Spokane Symphony Invited to Participate in Carnegie Hall’s Link Up

Sep 6, 2011

For Immediate Release

Contact: Janet Napoles 464-7062

Music Education Program Culminates with Interactive Orchestra Concerts
for Students Nationwide in spring 2012

Spokane Symphony Performs Link Up Concert
in Martin Woldson Theater at The Fox on May 11, 2012

In collaboration with Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute (WMI), the Spokane Symphony is participating in WMI’s Link Up program during the 2011–2012 season. Link Up pairs orchestras across the country, with schools in their local communities, inviting them to learn about orchestral repertoire through a year-long hands-on music curriculum. Utilizing curriculum materials provided free-of-charge by WMI, teachers guide students in exploring music through a composer’s lens, with students participating in active music making in the classroom, performing repertoire on recorder, violin, voice, or body percussion and taking part in creative work such as composing their own pieces inspired by the orchestral music they have studied.  

The culmination of the yearlong program is a live performance in which students have the opportunity to sing and play the recorder or violin along with the Spokane Symphony. This performance often serves as students’ first concert experience and provides them with the opportunity to apply the musical concepts they have studied. 

Link Up’s national partnerships grew out of the program’s ongoing work with New York City schools, through which Carnegie Hall has engaged hundreds of thousands of students in musical learning since its inception in 1985. During the 2011–2012 season, Link Up incorporates a new curriculum called “The Orchestra Moves.” Students in grades 3–5 discover how composers create musical movement using elements such as motif, melodic direction, steps and leaps, dynamics, and orchestration. Exploring a range of orchestral repertoire, students compose, sing, and play the recorder and/or the violin.

Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute provides for free to each site:

• Link Up curriculum guide with accompanying  CD and DVD for teachers (featuring lessons on singing, playing the soprano recorder or violin, reading and notating music, and composing and improvising music)
• Link Up workbook for each student
• Professional development webinar for teachers and orchestra administrators
• Complete concert script, repertoire list, and accompanying visuals
• Access to Carnegie Hall's Online Resource Center with educational materials, including the Link Up Beginnings skills-focused curriculum and audio for teachers and students
• Access to the Link Up Online Community, which connects teachers, Carnegie Hall staff, and featured contributors to share ideas, student work, videos, and photos
• Ongoing support and consultation regarding professional development, program implementation, and media/publicity planning

The Spokane Symphony is one of 31 organizations from across the United States chosen for this program. Other 2011–2012 participants include:

• Acadiana Symphony Orchestra and Conservatory of Music
• Albany Symphony Orchestra
• Austin Symphony Orchestra
• Carnegie Hall – Lewisburg, West Virginia
• Dallas Symphony Orchestra
• El Paso Symphony Orchestra
• Elgin Symphony Orchestra
• The Florida Orchestra
• Fort Wayne Philharmonic
• Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra
• GulfCoast Symphony
• Hartford Symphony Orchestra
• Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra
• Kansas City Symphony
• Las Vegas Philharmonic
• Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra
• Meridian Symphony Orchestra
• Mississippi Arts Commission
• Mississippi Symphony Orchestra
• Omaha Symphony
• Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra
• Sacramento Philharmonic Orchestra
• South Arkansas Symphony Orchestra
• South Carolina Philharmonic
• Spartanburg Philharmonic Orchestra
• Spokane Symphony
• St. Louis Symphony
• Tupelo Symphony Orchestra
• The University of Southern Mississippi Symphony Orchestra
• Vocal and Instrumental Teaching Artists Academy (VITA)
• West Michigan Symphony

   

 

The Link-Up program is an exciting addition to Spokane Symphony’s dynamic education program which includes concerts for more than 8,000 fourth graders from throughout the Inland Northwest. Members of the orchestra serve as coaches for string players in local secondary schools. The Symphony also provides small ensemble performance groups which provide interactive educational experiences for students in area schools. Contact Manager of Education Programs Janet Napoles at 509-464-7062 for additional information.

 

The Link-Up program with the Spokane Symphony is sponsored by Spokane Teacher’s Credit Union.

 

Weill Music Institute at Carnegie Hall

 

The Weill Music Institute creates broad-reaching music education and community programs that play a central role in Carnegie Hall’s commitment to making great music accessible to as wide an audience as possible. Woven into the fabric of the Carnegie Hall concert season, these programs occur at Carnegie Hall as well as in schools and throughout neighborhoods, providing musical opportunities for everyone, from preschoolers to adults, new listeners to emerging professionals. With access to the world’s greatest artists and latest technologies, the Weill Music Institute is uniquely positioned to inspire the next generation of music lovers, to nurture tomorrow’s musical talent, and to shape the evolution of musical learning itself. The Weill Music Institute’s school and community programs annually serve over 200,000 children, students, teachers, parents, young music professionals, and adults in the New York metropolitan area and across the US, with more than an additional 100,000 people taking advantage of WMI’s online music education resources.

 

Please visit carnegiehall.org/Education for more information.