By Constance White Loyd The lights are low. The stage is set. Entertainers are warming up. Programs are in hand, and the ushers are ready for another sold-out performance sponsored by the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. However, this show is not for the usual crowd. It is for 30,000 area fifth- graders from eight school districts who will enjoy a Houston Symphony concert performance, free of charge, at Jones Hall. The Houston Symphony Discovery Outreach Concert Series is a highly successful feature of Music Matters!, the education program of the world-renowned Houston Symphony. For the past three years, the Show has maintained a partnership with the Symphony. For the last two years it also has provided a $50,000 challenge grant, expected to be matched by other funding sources, to expand the reach of the concert series. Since its inception in 1992, the Symphony's Discovery Outreach Series has continued to introduce musical education to elementary school children throughout Houston and surrounding areas. As public schools reduce or eliminate the number of music education programs available to these children, the Houston Symphony has increased its commitment to introduce children to classical music. It is the only program in the region that brings students to an established venue to experience a specially programmed concert that is conducted and performed by professional artists and full-time orchestra members. Fifth-graders are selected to attend the free concerts because this age group has the option of taking band, choir or orchestra upon reaching middle school. For most of the students, attending the concert is their introduction to the world of symphonic music. As a result of this opportunity, they may choose to take music, enhancing their self esteem and improving learning skills while becoming involved in a wholesome extracurricular activity. Houston Symphony Conductor-in-Residence, Stephen Stein, attended his first symphony concert as a sixth-grader at the Young People's Concert in St. Louis. "I've never forgotten it and it changed my life forever," said Stein. "The concerts are designed to inform, enrich, entertain and to turn the kids on to the beauty, depth and importance that is great music." Stein and Houston Symphony's Director of Education, Ginny Garrett, work closely to design educational and entertaining programs for the audiences. The main focus of the concerts is to re-energize, revitalize and redirect the projects the symphony offers for education. Garrett strongly believes these programs are valuable to the young people. "Our name, 'Music Matters!,' says what we believe to be true--that a fine arts experience for children can make a difference. The start or continuation of these experiences for some students might be this very event--the Houston Symphony Discovery Concert."
The 1997 concert series titled "Soundwords - An Exploration of the Language of Music and the Music of Language" has been designed to reinforce and enrich the fifth-grade language arts curriculum. Just as sentences in the English language have structure, students learn that musical notes, bars and compositions are the components of which great symphonies are structured. In addition, the students are shown slides to visually demonstrate the meaning of the concert. The concerts feature excerpts from literary works and characters that have been translated into music such as "Romeo and Juliet" and "Billy the Kid." The students are introduced to the music of such composers as Adolphus Hailstork, a contemporary African-American composer known for his harmonic practices; Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, perhaps the best-known composer of all time; Silvestre Revueltas, the Mexican composer whose vibrant works are intensely associated with his native land; Alan Menken, an American composer who won an Oscar for the film score "Pocahontas"; and Aaron Copland, a Russian immigrant, who composed truly American music. The students hear Copland's music from the ballet "Billy the Kid" written in 1938, featuring the piece "Celebration Dance." The ballet score also includes many well known cowboy tunes such as "Git Along Little Dogie" and "O' Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie." To prepare the students for the concerts--and an integral part of the program's success--the teachers and students are provided a musical guidebook and a cassette tape of the music to be performed. The books are thorough in preparing the class for its field trip to Jones Hall. They tell the youngsters about concert manners and rules, followed by educational information regarding the history of the orchestra and the role of the conductor. They also include a glossary of terms. Stein personally visits several classrooms during the year to assess the success of this educational endeavor. The following thank you letter from 10-year-old Alexis exemplifies how the symphony concert experience made a lasting impression on her: "Dear Rodeo, Thank you very much for funding the Houston Symphony's concert. It was very generous and especially thoughtful. I really enjoyed it and harmony was ringing in my ears. Along with the touching pieces there were lessons starting from the pilgrims to today. The conductor was forbearing and was an official pro at conducting. Just think, seeing all those happy faces and joyful countenances from your doing. I will always remember that you were the people who made the fantastic concert happen and made everybody come together that day. Thank you very much HOUSTON RODEO!!" The Houston Symphony Discovery Concert Series funding proposal was introduced to the Show by former chairman of the board and Executive Committee member, Hal Hillman, and Dr. Dan Lehane, a Show vice president and Houston Symphony board member. "Even though the Show's main thrust is to promote agriculture and scholarships, we have spread exposure to the arts for so many inner city and at-risk kids by reaching kids who we don't reach through the Rodeo," commented Hillman. The Show is very proud of its involvement with the Houston Symphony according to Lehane. "The funding from the Show provides important ties with other significant Houston area cultural and educational institutions, and in so doing, it enhances the image and role the Show plays in the community. For a top 10 orchestra in the world to provide this educational service is unprecedented," said Lehane. Show officials are encouraged to attend one of the 10 concerts during the spring. James M. Windham Jr., a member of the Show's Executive Committee, who attended a concert with the fifth-graders, said, "Funding of the Houston Symphony Discovery Outreach Concert Series is consistent with the mission of the Show. No doubt it enhances the quality of life for the Houston metropolitan area. Like our scholarship programs with a proven history, we'll be as pleased with the results of this program, enhancing the quality of youth." The unlikely duet of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, and the Houston Symphony have orchestrated beautiful music together--a harmony which will enrich the minds of our youth for a lifetime. |
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