September 26, 2003
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Portland, Ore. … Sixth through 12th graders from the Portland metro area will learn about the historical relationship between musical expression and political pressures to limit that expression as Oregon Symphony Assistant Conductor Mei-Ann Chen presents “Music in Conflict,” on Tuesday, Oct. 28 at 9:30 and 11 a.m. at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. The concert will repeat on Thursday, Oct. 30 at 9:30 and 11 a.m. at Willamette University’s Smith Auditorium in Salem. The Youth Concert audience has been expanded to include high school students for whom the subject matter is appropriate or of interest.
Even in this “land of the free,” American artists sometimes experience attempted censorship through political pressure, said Director of Education and Community Programs Michael Kosmala. However, their frustration is a far cry from the repression felt by artists in other times and places, when straying from the official party line threatened both artists’ careers and their lives, he said. This concert, which features music from Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5, will explore how historical and cultural contexts influence works of art, and how composers use musical language to express powerful and often forbidden ideas.
In conjunction with the music, a student narrator will join Chen onstage to describe the repressive conditions that existed in Stalinist Russia and present Shostakovich’s own written descriptions of his music, which he used to convey strong emotions. This concert also includes links to the following curriculum subjects to further assist teachers: Music, Social Sciences and English Language Arts.
This year’s Oregon Symphony Youth Concerts are designed for elementary, middle and high 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.
