November 2016 Concert Guide for Students

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Art Search & Student Letters . . . 2

The Instruments of The Cleveland Orchestra . . . . . . 2

The Sounds of the Orchestra . . . 3

Tuning Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

en reeds tied up to look something like a soda straw (oboe, English horn, bassoon,

and contrabassoon).

How woodwind instruments work: The air inside the hollow woodwind instruments must vibrate to make musical sounds. For a flute and piccolo, all you need to do is blow across (not into!) the hole in the mouthpiece, like making sound across the top of a Coke bottle (glass bottles makes better sounds than plastic ones). On the woodwinds with wooden reeds, the reeds begin to vibrate when you put them in your mouth, set your mouth just right, and blow. You change pitch by tightening or loos-ening your lips and by pressing down different combinations of keys.

Brilliant Brass!Brass instruments have been around since an-cient times. Horns have been pictured on the walls of primitive dwellings and Egyptian tombs, and they have been described on crumbling scrolls and clay tablets. They have been made of bone, cane, an animal’s horn, and metal.

Brass instruments have played a part in pageantry, war, hunting, celebrat-ing, communicating messages over

long distances, and a wide variety of social events. Instruments from the brass

family have played important musical roles in many types of music over the past several cen-turies. The members of the brass family are (from highest to lowest) trumpet, French horn, trombone, and tuba.

InstrumentsWhen you come to the Adrienne Arsht Center in November to hear a

Cleveland Orchestra Miami Concert, you are in for a special treat. The conductor, the members of the orchestra, and

a composer will take you on a musical tour of all the instruments in the

orchestra. You will be able to see and hear firsthand how each family of instruments adds its own distinct flavor to the orchestral sound.

How brass instruments work: A player puts her lips together and buzzes air through them into the metal mouthpiece. That starts the air vibrating through the hollow metal tube, and a wonderful sound comes out! You play different notes on a brass instrument by tightening and loosening your lips and by pressing down valves (or in the case of the trombone, by moving the slide in and out!).

Power-Packed Percussion!The percussion family includes all the instru-ments that are struck in some way. We have no official records of when humans first used percussion instruments, but from ancient times, drums have been used for tribal dances and for communications of all kinds. Today, there are more kinds of instruments in the percussion family than in any other. They can be grouped into two types: first, those instruments that make one pitch (snare drum, bass drum, cym-bals, tambourine, wood block, gong, maracas, and castanets); second, those that can play different notes, even a melody. These include the kettle drums, the xylophone, the orchestra bells, the celesta, and the piano.

How percussion instruments work: There are several ways to get a percussion instrument to start vibrating. You can hit some with a stick or mallet (snare drum, bass drum, kettle drum, triangle, xylophone), others you shake (mara-cas, tambourine), and some you hit with your hand (tambourine). Some you scrape (guiro), some you hit with a hammer (chimes), and oth-ers you crash together (cymbals).

Wondrous Woodwinds!

The first woodwind instrument might have been made by blowing through a blade of grass or through an old animal bone. Flutes made of bone and decorated wood are found in the his-tory of many cultures. At first the holes were open and needed to be covered by fingers. As time passed, inventors put metal keys on the woodwind instruments that would cover more than one hole at a time, making it possible to play higher, lower, and faster. There are three groups of woodwind instruments: (1) those where you blow across an open hole (flute and piccolo); (2) those with a single wooden reed on the mouthpiece (clarinet, bass clarinet, saxo-phone); and (3) those that use two small wood-

Sensational Strings!Historians think that the first string instrument was developed from the caveman’s hunting bow and developed over time into several different instruments with different numbers of strings. Early members of the string fami-ly included the zither, lyre, dulcimer, and lute. The stringed instruments we use today have changed little since the 1600s; (in fact, some violinists still play instruments that were made way back then!). Members of the string fami-ly include (from highest to lowest) violin, viola, cello, and double bass. The harp is also a mem-ber of the string family.

How stringed instruments work: Something must start a vibration of a string to make it sound. This can be done by plucking the string with a finger, making one tone that quickly dies away. Most string instruments can also be played by pulling a special bow across the string to start it in motion. The bow is made of wood and horse hair. You change pitch by playing a different string or by placing your finger on a string to make it a different length (shorter=higher in pitch).

Meet the

Send a letter to the editor

about your concert experience .

Mail your letter to:

Cleveland Orchestra Miami

1444 Biscayne Blvd ., Suite 302

Miami, Florida 33132

or email bmena@clevelandorchestra .com

Include your name and school

Thanks for the music. It was amazing. Now I

love classical music. I won’t forget the music.

– Devin, Amelia Earhart Elementary School

You guys make music that is so wonderful it

makes me think of being in the music band.

– Leonardo, Miami Gardens Elementary School

The music you played made me realize that music could be super fun to listen to and that

(it) is super fun to go to the orchestra.

– Xavier, Banyan Elementary School

2

Brett Mitchell, Associate Conductor, The Cleveland Orchestra

BIRTHPLACE: Seattle, Washington

FAMILY: I got married three summers ago to my beautiful wife Angela, who is a host on WCLV. We live in Lakewood with our two cats, M’ow and Jack.

FAVORITE FOOD: My mom’s turkey dinner is pretty hard to beat. (Then again, so is my dad’s flank steak...)

FAVORITE MOVIE: Impossible to choose just one! I love Star Wars, the first two Superman films (starring Christopher Reeve), Field of Dreams, and Moulin Rouge!

FAVORITE BOOK: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer. Also love the works of Cummings, Aud-en, Hesse, Wilde, and Eliot.

PERFORMERS I ADMIRE: Every member of The Cleveland Orchestra.

STUDIED MUSIC AT: I got my undergraduate degree in music composition from Western Washington University, and my graduate degrees in orchestral conducting from The University of Texas at Austin.

ORCHESTRAS I’VE CONDUCTED: London Philharmonic Orchestra, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Detroit Symphony, Oregon Symphony, Houston Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony, Memphis Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, Frankfurt Radio Symphony, Washington D.C.’s National Symphony Orchestra, and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra.

INSTRUMENTS I HAVE STUDIED: My primary instrument has always been the piano, which I’ve played since I was a little boy. In school, I first played the saxophone, then switched to percussion in high school.

MY HOBBIES ARE: I absolutely love Cleveland, but deep down, I’ll always be a die-hard Seattle Seahawks fan. Go Hawks! (I know, I know...)

www .clevelandorchestramiami .com

3

ALL SHAPES AND SIZES (full orchestra vs. chamber orchestra)STRAUSS Introduction from Also sprach Zarathustra

MOZART Allegro from Eine kleine Nachtmusik (strings) MUSIC IN STEREO (polyphony)DUKAS Fanfare from La PériDAUGHERTY “MXYZPTLK” from Metropolis Symphony

MUSIC FROM AFAR (offstage)BERLIOZ “Scené aux Champs” from Symphonie fantastiqueBEETHOVEN Leonore Overture No. 3

AN ORCHESTRA OF SOLOISTSRAVEL Bolero (percussion)

NEW SOUNDS FOR THE CONCERT HALL (technology)BATES Mothership for orchestra & electronica

The Cleveland Orchestra Brett Mitchell, conductor

Wednesday, November 9, 2016

played not only in concert halls like this one but also in opera houses. This overture was written as a part of a larger opera, so there is a story that goes along with the music. You will hear a trumpet that sounds far away, because it is being played offstage as well. This trumpet leads the piece into a recapitulation, which means a recap of what was already played, before the piece’s dramatic conclusion.

An Orchestra of Soloists Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) was born in 1875 and began his musical studies at age 7. As a student he composed several short pieces for piano and was quickly recognized for his creative use of harmony

and Spanish influences. Ravel’s composing career was interrupt-ed when he served in World War I in the ambulance corps. How-ever, after two years of service, he was discharged from the mil-itary for health reasons. Ravel’s music is often described in terms of “color”. His compositions are filled with many sounds that were

new and exotic to audiences of the time. Today, you will hear many sounds coming from the percussion family in his piece “Bolero.” One of the most im-portant percussion parts is the snare drum, which plays the same rhythm during the entire piece.

New Sounds for the Concert Hall (technology)

Mason Bates (1977-) is an innovative composer who combines classical music with jazz harmonies, techno rhythms, and electronic sounds. This piece “imagines the orchestra as a mothership” that is boarded by instruments in every family, using the E-flat clarinet (woodwind family), marimba (percussion family), cello (string family), and trumpet (brass family). In Mothership, you will

not only hear these traditional orchestral instruments, but you will also hear many electronic sounds playing with the orchestra. Bates likes to bring classical music to new audiences, and one time he premiered (performed a work for the first time) a piece on YouTube and it got over two million views.

The Cleveland Orchestra and associate conductor, Brett Mitchell, will explore the unique traits of the four families of musical instruments that make up the “Sounds of the Orchestra.” Students will experience the distinctive sounds of the string, woodwind, brass, and percussion sections, and will learn how composers weave these individual groups into diverse musical soundscapes.

for several Paris newspapers. On this concert you will hear the Fanfare from La Péri. A fanfare is a short, showy, piece of music usually played for a special event. It is often played to announce the arrival of an important person, such as a king or queen. Fan-fares are usually played by trumpets and other brass instruments, and have a majestic, even royal sound.

Michael Daugherty (1954-) Michael Daugh-erty was a huge fan of the Superman comic strips that were originally written by Jerry Siegel in Cleve-land. While Daugherty was teaching at Oberlin Col-

lege Conservatory, his enthusi-asm for Superman inspired him to write the Metropolis Symphony. In this symphony, you can hear many different styles of music, including symphonic, rock, jazz, and funk. Today you will hear the third movement of the Metropolis Symphony, titled Mxyzptlk (pro-nounced “mixes-pit-lick”), which

is based on the “mischievous imp from the fifth di-mension who regularly wreaks havoc on Metropolis.” This movement features the upper register of the orchestra, including the woodwind family (like the clarinet, oboe, and bassoon) and two flute players who will perform on both sides of the conductor. This piece is very high-energy, so grab your cape and be prepared to imagine yourself flying beside Super-man as he defeats the supervillain, Mxyzptlk.

Music from Afar (offstage)

Hector Berlioz (1803-1869) was a French com-poser who began singing, flute and guitar lessons at age 13. Berlioz wrote his Symphonie Fantastique during the revolution of 1830. He wrote, “I dashed off

the final pages of my orchestral score to the sounds of stray bullets coming over the roofs and patter-ing on the walls outside my win-dow.” Today you will hear part of the third movement, “Scène aux Champs”, which means “Scene in the Fields.” Berlioz wrote this movement to depict a summer evening on the countryside. An

English horn and an oboe will play back and forth, representing two shepherds having a conversation. However, the oboe might sound far away, because it is being played offstage.

Ludwig Van Beethoven (1770-1827)pronounced LUDE-vig vahn BAY-toe-vin) showed an extraordinary talent for music by the time he was five, but his childhood was an unhappy one because of a stern and overbearing father who forced him

to practice hour after hour, sometimes even all night long! He played his first concert at age 7, and was hired as a church organist at age 11 when he was already considered a composer. When people protested that he did not follow the accepted rules of composition, Beethoven told them, “rules are made to be

broken.” Beethoven’s new ideas literally transformed music, from the reserved and balanced Classical musical style to the more dramatic and emotional Romantic style. On this concert, you will hear a portion of the Leonore Overture No. 3, a piece that is

The Cleveland Orchestra Education Concerts for Grade 4

All Shapes and Sizes (full vs. chamber orchestra)

Richard Strauss (1864-1949) (pronounced Ree-card) was born in Munich, Germany. Richard’s father was a musician (he played the French horn) and he made sure his son was surrounded by mu-

sic. Richard began piano lessons at age 4, violin lessons at age 6, and theory and composition lessons at age 11. He became a very successful composer and conductor. His best known works are his symphonic poems, op-eras and songs. His symphon-ic poems told a story without

words or action—he used only musical sounds. Also Sprach Zarathustra (“Zarathustra also spoke”) is an example of a symphonic poem. You will hear the be-ginning of this work on the concert where he want-ed to represent the sun rising in the morning. The three note theme builds one note at a time, and is repeated, separated by notes on the timpani, each time getting louder and more exciting until the mu-sical sun seems to burst into full view the third time. In this piece you will hear the huge force of a full orchestra. Fun fact: this piece was also used in the movie “2001: A Space Odyssey.”

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) Mozart was a genius. In his brief lifetime Mozart wrote nearly 1,000 pieces of music in many different forms including symphonies, sonatas, operas, con-certos, serenades, religious and chamber music. He was prolific (productive – producing a large quan-

tity); he was versatile (multital-ented – could compose in any form, for any occasion); he was fast (he once wrote an entire op-era in 18 days!); and he was, of course, musically gifted. Mozart’s music is characterized by beau-tiful melodies, clarity of sound, a sense of balance and order, and by his ability to capture hu-

man emotions – joy, fear, tragedy, comedy, love and more! When Mozart was living in the city of Vienna, he was often asked to write music for special occa-sions, such as formal dinners or dances. “Eine kleine Nachtmusik” (In English, “A Little Night Music”) was likely written for just such an occasion. The section you will hear only uses the string instruments, which is called a chamber orchestra. I bet you will recog-nize the energetic first movement when you hear it!

Music in Stereo (polyphony) PAUL DUKAS (1865-1935) (pronounced Du-KAH) is a French composer most well-known for his fa-mous children’s work, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, made popular by the Disney movie Fantasia featur-ing Mickey Mouse in the Sorcerer’s role. Paul Dukas

was not only a composer, but a scholar and a teacher as well. He started composing music at 14 years of age, and, at age 16, entered the Paris Conservatory where he later became a profes-sor of composition and orches-tration. Dukas was also highly regarded as a music critic (one who writes reviews of concerts)

3

Sounds the of theOrchestra

THE SOUND OF MUSIC: HOW ACOUSTICS WORK ATTHE JOHN S. AND JAMES L. KNIGHT CONCERT HALL When the orchestra plays, the concert hall itself takes part in the music making.TUNING UP

hen you arrive at the 2,200-seat John S. and James L. Knight Concert Hall the room you enter is like a giant sensory machine.

From the arrangement of the seats to the acoustic canopy hanging over the stage to the heavy, motorized drapes crawling up and down the walls, the entire room will be alive with devices – high-tech versions of ancient principles of acoustics (the scientific study of sound) – designed to create the best possible audience experience.

1. ACOUSTIC ‘CINNAMON BUN’Hanging over the stage, a 130,000-pound canopy of steel and wood, shaped like a cinnamon bun, is raised and lowered on steel cables. It redirects sound waves back down and around the orchestra and the first few rows of the audience, so each performer and fan can hear the entire ensemble, not just the nearest instruments.

It Moves! The canopy can be raised to 60 feet above the orchestra or lowered to 35 feet above it. It moves in three parts, a central circle and two half circles that move independently. For amplified rock concerts, the canopy rises to the ceiling and three big banks of loud-speakers descend.

2. LOTS OF CURVES• BALCONIES: To achieve intimacy, balconies are

wrapped around the entire audience chamber to the stage’s edge. This avoids vast empty side walls that create visual distance.

• AISLES: Curving aisles carve the central row of seats into an hourglass shape, to create the illusion that audience members are closer to the stage than they really are.

3. WALL SURFACESAuditorium walls are thick plaster and masonry to better reflect sound, especially low frequencies.

4. ACOUSTIC DRAPESAt the back of the reverberation chamber, heavy velour drapes can be lowered and raised by motors to deaden the sound reflecting off the chamber’s back wall. Another set of drapes can be lowered in front of the reverb doors, deadening the hall even more for, say, a rock band.

“Tuning UP” generously provided by the Miami Herald. Mark Mattern (Graphics) and Fred Tasker (Reporter)/ Miami Herald Staff. Sources: Fisher Dachs Associates. Adapted for students by MMA.

6. REVERBERATION CHAMBERSJust outside the concert hall’s inner wall is a massive, empty reverberation chamber – 18 feet deep, 66 feet tall, running two-thirds around the hall. Access is controlled by 84 massive concrete doors, the biggest 21 feet tall by 8 feet wide and 10,000 pounds, in three horizontal rows. At the push of a button, a small mechanical arm opens each door on a precisely balanced steel pivot. With the doors open, sound waves bounce off the back walls, giving them greater space in which to reverberate, making them more complex.

7. ACOUSTIC GAPRunning around the outside of the audience chamber’s outer wall is a two-inch gap, separating it from the rest of the building. It’s to spare the audience noise and vibration from elevators, air conditioning systems and flushing toilets.

Plumbing, electrical conduits are flexible at gap.

Interior walls: Cinder block construction.

Thick plaster adds mass to wall to make sound more reflective.

AUDIENCE CHAMBER

8. SEATSSeat bottoms are made of wood, so an empty seat will mimic the acoustic quality of a patron in the seat.

9. CHOIR SEATINGTwo levels of the concert hall’s encircling balconies con-tinue around the back of the orchestra. These can seat a choir of 200, lifting them above the orchestra so they can be better heard. When there’s no choir, the audience can sit there.

10. ORCHESTRA PALLETSeats for the orchestra can be arranged on a hard maple pal-let that sits behind the stage, out of sight. When it’s show-time, the pallet is raised slightly off the floor by air pressure from powerful compressors, and, despite its 65,000-pound weight, can be pushed onstage by three stagehands.

4 5

2

3

8

67

9

10

1

STAGESTAGE

REVERBERATION DOORSREVERBERATION DOORS

PIANOLIFTPIANOLIFT

AUDIENCEAUDIENCE

BOX TIERBOX TIER

BALCONYBALCONY

BALCONYBALCONY

4

W

SPOTLIGHTS SPEAKERS

SUSPENSION CABLES 5. REVERBERATION DOORS

Adrienne Arsht Center

Cleveland Orchestra Miami graciously recognizes the generous support of

Sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture.

With the support of the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners.

Cleveland Orchestra Miami education programs are funded in part by The Children’s Trust. The Children’s Trust is a dedicated source of revenue established by voter referendum to improve the lives of children and families in Miami-Dade County by making strategic investments in their future.

This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Generous foundation support provided by The Miami Foundation, from a fund established by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

The Batchelor Foundation, Inc.

ABSORBED SOUND

SILENT AIR CONDITIONING VENTS