Imagine if the majority of students had a passion for calculus, downloading calculus from the internet, listening to calculus on their iPods, absorbing calculus from movies, TV, and games, wallpapering their rooms with posters of calculus scholars, and reading, discussing, memorizing, and spending their money on calculus. Yet calculus is nowhere in school, with many students failing lower-level algebra, and failing to thrive academically.

Substituting music for math makes the scenario true, and no less absurd. To frustrate matters further, regional arts organizations are frequently in close proximity to schools with which they would be eager to collaborate, but lack a logistical framework.

The Concert Curriculum provides a novel solution for genuine collaboration between schools and orchestras, with the program benefiting both. Schools can tap into the musical passions of their students and engage the powerful resources of regional arts organizations with benefits spreading across the whole school. And by including the participation of whole grades of highly-trained students from their community, orchestras can offer extraordinary concerts with benefits spreading across their whole organization.


What is a Concert Curriculum?

According to Principal Thomas Rabone of Castleton, NY: “An extraordinary year that culminated in an event so spectacular, it brought together families, teachers, and students, and rallied the whole community.” According to an evaluation of the field published by the National Arts Journalism Program Journal of Columbia University: “the most exciting thing going on in children’s programming.”

Simply put, a Concert Curriculum is a curriculum that culminates in the students’ performance with orchestra. There are currently two versions of the Concert Curriculum: An Orchestra's Guide To The Young Person (the original), and An Orchestra's Guide To The Universe (with science).

The program is the basis for collaboration between a school and an orchestra and, in the case of An Orchestra's Guide To The Universe, a science institution as well. Throughout the year, students work with their teachers, visiting musicians, and scientists if involved, in order to learn and create material for the culminating performances. The performances feature the students, an orchestra, and, in the case of An Orchestra's Guide To The Universe, a multimedia presentation of images from space.

Compared to arts programs in which students observe performances from afar, in the Concert Curriculum, whole grades of students participate in what it is the musicians actually do, learning, rehearsing and performing alongside them. Partnering established arts institutions with low resource schools with the shared goal of producing a fully professional concert at its conclusion provides exceptional opportunities for each.
 
The performance itself is based on a plot in which a kid on stage goes to sleep and the concert enters his or her dreams. In An Orchestra's Guide To The Young Person, the sleeping kid takes the concert on a journey through his or her imagination. In An Orchestra's Guide To The Universe, the sleeping kid takes the concert on a journey through the universe. During dream sequences, the whole grades of students who participate in the program perform as a chorus and in other roles. Finally, the main kid wakes up so the concert may conclude in its original reality and, in the case of An Orchestra's Guide To The Universe, return to Earth. Culminating concerts are popular, public events and last between 60 and 75 minutes, without intermission.
 

The Symphonical

The culminating concert is a hybrid genre, a musical starring elementary school students that emerges from within a symphony orchestra concert, what we are calling a “symphonical.” The symphonical includes an original score with words and music by Arthur Bloom as well as excerpts from masterpieces such as Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Wagner’s The Ride of the Valkyries, and Ravel’s Bolero. Dream sequences also include a variety of musical styles, from jazz to hip hop, and opportunities for adding original material produced by the students themselves. With the inclusion of the students’ original material, and variations related to the circumstances, each production has its own unique character.

Dream sequences and a script link the curriculum to the concert:

Dream sequences and a script link the concert to the curriculum and accommodate the circumstances of each unique production. During dream sequences, the concert enters the imagination of the dozing child, around whom the concert revolves, with the chorus of students on stage expressing his or her thoughts. The chorus alternatively sings, plays instruments, acts, recites, or presents original text or music – all of which have been prepared through corresponding curriculum units. At times the chorus acts as a group, at times there are spoken or sung solos.

A script organizes the concert, and provides segues between the “outer concert” and dream sequences. Each time the program is implemented, the script is adapted in order to accommodate each, unique production, and the personalities of its participants.


The Partnership
 
The program brings together several institutions in partnership: RIME, a school, an orchestra, and optionally a science institution. In the core school, administration, participating teachers, and whole grades of students become involved. Students from other schools may also pursue portions of the curriculum and attend performances. The orchestra provides the conductor, musicians, and venue. When involved, the science institution provides the scientists who visit the school. RIME provides materials and support for the participants, and facilitates visits by collaborators, the implementation of the curriculum, and the production of the performance. A final constituent – the community – attends performances.


The Students

The piece is suitable for kids between 4th and 8th grade, with around 75-150 kids typically performing onstage with the orchestra. The students perform largely as a chorus, with additional roles assigned throughout the year. While the program takes a whole-grade, whole-school approach, it can also cater to particular interests and abilities, with groups as well as individuals selected for particular tasks during the performance. In-class activities range from learning songs to playing melodic, percussive, and possibly MIDI instruments, listening to and analyzing music, writing original text, and possibly composing original music. Students also act and recite, and may participate in optional thematic units in other subjects. Indeed, the more the whole school participates, the better.


Chorus As Conduit

While students on stage function primarily as a chorus and, at the very least must sing, singing songs is only the starting point for additional in-class and on-stage activities. The songs become a conduit for additional activities, and additional roles and tasks may be assigned to individual students, groups of students, or entire classes. Songs, pieces, and related curricular tasks include. For example, the following songs from An Orchestra’s Guide To The Young Person have the following additional tasks associated with them:

Monsters and Pets – Students may create their own verses.
Accompanied Essays – Students create and recite text to music, and may compose music.
Wizardous Muck – Students may play pitched instruments.
Food For Thought – Students may play percussion instruments
The Complain Song – Students may play pitched instruments.
Jaba Chimmy Changa – Students may create and perform original text and music.
Bolero – Students may play percussion instruments.