March 19, 2004
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Portland, Ore. … How composers “color” a piece of music by using specific instruments or combinations of instruments is explored by the Oregon Symphony, led by Assistant Conductor Mei-Ann Chen, as they present the second Youth Concert of the season, “The Colors of Music,” to third through fifth graders on April 26 and 27 at 9:30 and 11 a.m. at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. Additional performances are scheduled for Friday, April 30 at 9:30 and 11 a.m. at Willamette University’s Smith Auditorium in Salem.
The concerts will feature 14-year-old Amy Zhang of Corvallis, who won the Oregon Symphony Association in Salem’s 2003 Vernon L. Wiscarson Young Musicians’ Competition. Zhang will perform the third movement of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 2 in Bb Major.
During the hour-long concert, kids will learn the answer to the question, “What brings music to life?” Melody, harmony and rhythm are important, but the instruments or colors a composer chooses are also an essential feature that makes a composition come alive. In this concert, which also features music from Mozart’s Overture to “The Marriage of Figaro,” Berlioz’ “Roman Carnival Overture” and Shostakovich’s “Festive Overture,” kids will learn how to distinguish and identify the various instrumental voices within the orchestra. They will also explore how contrasting timbre and styles can affect the mood of a piece and discover the connections music shares with other arts. This concert also includes links to the following curriculum subjects to further assist teachers: Music, Visual Arts and English Language Arts.
The Youth Concert series continues to expand its audience base by including elementary school students from Salem as well as Portland, as part of the Education and Community Program Department’s overall objective, which includes presenting Symphony programs to children throughout the state.
Oregon Symphony Youth Concerts are designed for elementary
and middle school students
throughout the state of Oregon and are attended by
over 20,000 students each year. The Oregon Symphony
presented its first “Music for Youth” Concerts
in 1962 to junior and senior high school students in
the Portland Public Schools. Youth Concerts are age-specific
and support common curricular goals of the Oregon Content
Standards in multiple subject areas. Oregon Symphony
Education and Community Programs work with area teachers,
administrators and parents to develop concerts that
provide students with quality experiences in the arts
and that are relevant to their current learning skills
and knowledge.
Tickets are $3/per student and the concert is free for students in the free-or reduced-lunch programs. For more information call 503-228-4294 or visit the Symphony’s Web site at www.orsymphony.org.
