2019-20-Symphony-in-Space-Guide-1

Grades through Tuesday, March 17, 2020 (Middle School Day) Wednesday, March 18, 2020 Thursday, March 19, 2020 Friday, March 20, 2020 Presented at the Hemmens Cultural Center in Elgin ElginSymphony.org Ta b le o f Co n t e n ts Program Also Sprach Zarathustra, by Richard Strauss The Planets Mars, Bringer of War by Gustav Holst Jupiter Symphony Movement 3, Menuetto by W.A Mozart Celestial Swim by Elizabeth Start Famous Women Composers Flute Concerto in D Major by Carl Reinecke 10 Miguel Rodriguez, flute soloist / interview 10 Mothership by Mason Bates 13 Star Wars by John Williams 15 Etiquette for Concert Goers 16 Stephen Squires, Resident Conductor 17 Special Thanks 17 About the Elgin Symphony Orchestra 18 Worksheet: 5/4 Meter 19 Worksheet: Listening 20 Worksheet: Star Wars Rhythms 21 Thank you to our Sponsors: Ainsworth Family Bear Family (Bear Family McDonalds) Fox Valley Arts Hall of Fame Elgin Symphony Orchestra Symphony in Space Page PRoGRAM Also Sprach Zarathustra opening Richard Strauss (2001 Space Odyssey Theme) The Planets Gustav Holst Mars, the Bringer of War Jupiter Symphony W A Mozart Movement 3: Menuetto Celestial Swim Flute Concerto in D Major Elizabeth Start Carl Reinecke Movement 3: Moderato featuring Miguel Rodriguez, flute Mothership Star Wars Opening Theme Elgin Symphony Orchestra Symphony in Space Mason Bates John Williams Page ALSO SPRACH ZARATHUSTRA By Richard Strauss b June 11, 1864 d September 8, 1949 Fun facts about Strauss: He wrote his first composition at age 6! S trauss wrote the famous theme heard in the 1968 film “2001: A Space Odyssey.” He was born and raised in Munich, Germany In WWII, Strauss used his influence to protect his Jewish daughter-in-law and grandchildren from persecution and being sent to concentration camps He wrote his oboe concerto upon the request of American soldier and oboist John de Lancie who was in the unit stationed at and protecting Strauss’ home after the end of WWII S trauss’ music, so important in the instrumental orchestral literature, is asked to be played on nearly every string audition for professional orchestras What’s cool about this music: Also Sprach Zarathustra translated means “Thus Spoke Zarathustra” which is the title of a novel written by existentialist Friedrich Nietzsche What you will hear on the concert is just a very short portion of this piece, which in form is defined as a tone poem A tone poem is a piece of music for symphony orchestra which illustrates the content of a poem, short story, novel, painting, landscape or other subject The piece is divided into nine sections Each section highlights the major life moments of the character Zarathustra We will hear the Introduction, or Sunrise as it is sometimes called It is only about minutes in length FOLLOW THIS LINK to hear a recording of the Introduction to Also Sprach Zarathustra by Richard Strauss Why you think Stanley Kubrick, director of the film “2001: A Space Odyssey”, chose this piece of music for the theme music for his movie? What makes it feel like ‘space music’? Elgin Symphony Orchestra Symphony in Space Page THE PLANETS MARS, THE BRINGER OF WAR By Gustav Holst b September 21, 1874 d May 25, 1934 Fun facts about Holst: H  olst was interested in astrology It was this, not astronomy that inspired him to write ‘The Planets’ S uffering from neuritis, he was unable to play piano for any duration He studied trombone as an alternative, also as therapy for his asthma He supplemented his income by playing the trombone, even playing under the baton of Richard Strauss at one point He was a strict vegetarian A  very shy personality, he did not welcome the fame that came after the success of ‘The Planets’ He preferred to be left alone to teach and compose What’s cool about this music: The Planets is a seven-movement suite The movements are named for the planets of our solar system and their corresponding astrological character The suite begins with Mars and is followed by Venus, Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune WATCH THIS PERFORMANCE of Mars, the Bringer of War by Gustav Holst WORKSHEET: 5/4 Meter WORKSHEET: Listening A movement is a self-contained part of a musical composition or form While individual movements are sometimes performed separately, a performance of the complete work requires all of the movements to be performed in succession A suite in Western classical music is an ordered set of pieces The movements are often thematically or tonally linked Elgin Symphony Orchestra Symphony in Space Page JUPITER SYMPHONY MOVEMENT 3, MENUETTO By W A Mozart b January 27, 1756 d December 5, 1791 Fun facts about Mozart: Just like Richard Strauss, he was composing at age 6! H  e’s probably the most famous composer from the Classical era of musical composition Mozart wrote his first great Mass at age 12 Beethoven, at age 16, went to study with Mozart for a 2-week period In his summer residence outside Vienna, Mozart out with a young Marie Antoinette He was named by TIME magazine as one of the “greatest people of the Millennium” What’s cool about this music: The Jupiter Symphony was not named after the planet Jupiter, but after the chief god of the ancient Roman Pantheon The god Jupiter possessed qualities that were present in Mozart’s music which included humor and boundless energy Jupiter, god of the sky, was also the most powerful god Jupiter is the largest planet, and the ancient Romans thought it was a fitting name FOLLOW THIS LINK to listen to a recording of Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony Movement #3, Menuetto What to listen for: The portion of the symphony you will hear at the concert is the third movement This movement is a minuet, which was the most popular ballroom dance of Mozart’s era Minuets are written in ¾ time Conduct while you listen: Follow the arrow on the image to the right The red arrow is the downbeat, the first beat of the measure, or the strongest beat Beats (blue) and (green) are lighter, and have an upward movement leading back to the downbeat Mozart lived and composed during the Classical Period which took place approximately from 1730 to 1820 and falls between the Baroque and Romantic periods During the Classical period, form and structure were emphasized Notice that the piece begins with a descending melody in the violins This theme is repeated with similar melodies There is a contrasting middle section to the dance See if you can pick out where this section begins You may notice that instruments from another section of the orchestra introduce contrasting material Soon you will recognize the return of the melodies from the beginning This is called ABA form: opening (A), contrasting (B), opening (A) Elgin Symphony Orchestra Symphony in Space Page Wordsearch: Musical words from the Classical era ALBERTI BASS, ALLEGRO, BEETHOVEN, CONCERTO, DEVELOPMENT, EXPOSITION, EUROPE, FORM, GAVOTTE, HARMONY, HAYDN, MELODY, MENUETTO, MOTIF, MOVEMENT, MOZART, OVERTURE, PIANOFORTE, RECAPITULATION, SCHUBERT, SYMPHONY, THEME, TRIO Learn more about the classical era here: Classical Music Period Facts for Kids Kids Music Corner: the Classical Period Elgin Symphony Orchestra Symphony in Space Page CELESTIAL SWIM By Elizabeth (Betsy) Start This year we are pleased to present a work by an Elgin Symphony Orchestra musician Elizabeth Start (aka Betsy) holds bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and cello from Oberlin, master’s degrees in cello and theory/composition from Northern Illinois University, and a PhD in composition from the University of Chicago She spent 15 years living and free-lancing as a cellist, composer and teacher in the Chicago area, teaching at many institutions, including DePaul University, Elgin Suzuki, McHenry County Music Center, McHenry County College and Columbia College As a performer, she has premiered over 100 works As a composer, she has received numerous grants and commissions and over 500 performances of over 140 works in the U.S and abroad While living in Chicago, in addition to orchestral work, she performed on many concerts with Ralph Shapey’s Contemporary Chamber Players, chamber concerts of new music at Orchestra Hall with members of the CSO, for American Women Composers, CUBE, and New Music Chicago She returned to her hometown of Kalamazoo, MI in 2001, where she is a cellist with the Kalamazoo Symphony, Executive Director of the Michigan Festival of Sacred Music (a 501(c)(3) arts organization), and SecretaryTreasurer of the Kalamazoo Federation of Musicians, Local 228, AFM She continues her activities in Illinois with the Elgin Symphony, Chicago Philharmonic, and as a member of Musicians Club of Women and the Chicago Composers’ Consortium She recently completed a commission from the Kalamazoo Symphony to create a piece for their 100th anniversary season in 2020-21, which will feature a new commissioned work on every concert, including a concerto for orchestra by Andre Previn www.elizabethstart.com “Fun facts about me” from Betsy Start: W  hen I was growing up, it was normal for people to have the newspaper delivered to their homes, and I had a paper route where I delivered newspapers to 140 homes every day W  hen I was years old, my father went to Europe on business for months, and the whole family went with him, taking our schoolbooks with us traveling over and back on an ocean liner, and all over the UK in a camper and Europe on trains I wrote a little piano piece at the time which I called “The Sleek Slim Ocean Liner” 3.I have two cats named Tara and Emma, named after the female characters in the old “Avengers” TV show Those are also names of goddesses 4.Even though I played the cello from about 11 years old and wrote a few little compositions when I was 8, I first went to college on a math and science scholarship and didn’t seriously study music until my second year of college I had totally forgotten I’d written little pieces as a kid and didn’t “really” start writing music until I was about 24 years old I like to go fly-fishing, mainly for trout (catch and release) I consider it educating the fish What’s cool about this music: This piece is inspired by the idea of floating in space, slowly encountering and reacting to things we might see nearby or in the distance In general it is calm, but there is an underlying activity and some surprises, as might occur when we turn in space and find an unexpected object near or approaching us We can ‘lose’ ourselves in thought, in space and in music This piece imagines us “lost in space”, and in our imaginations, we are free to explore, experience and react, and to find connections and appreciate differences Or we can just notice things and this often can give us new insights into ourselves and the world around us, as well as the world of music Elgin Symphony Orchestra Symphony in Space Page FAMOUS WOMEN COMPOSERS Clara Schumann: 1819-1896 Nadia Boulanger: 1887-1979 Hildegard of Bingen: 1098-1179 Jennifer Higdon: born 1962 Joan Tower: born 1938 Ariana Grande: born 1993 Florence Price: 1887-1953 Augusta Reed Thomas: born 1964 Elgin Symphony Orchestra Symphony in Space Page FLUTE CONCERTO IN D MAJOR MOVEMENT 3: MODERATO By Carl Reinecke b June 32, 1824 d March 10, 1910 Fun facts about Carl Reinecke: He composed nearly 300 works! U  sing a piano roll he recorded all of his compositions himself in 1904 He was 80 years old Reinecke studied composition with Liszt, Mendelssohn and Schumann He was very influential in his time and some of his students include the legendary Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg and the brilliant composer Arthur Sullivan (of Gilbert and Sullivan fame) He conducted the premier of the famous Requiem of Johannes Brahms What’s cool about this music: This piece is called a concerto A concerto is a piece that it was written for a solo instrument, in this case the flute, accompanied by the orchestra Our soloist, Larkin High School junior Miguel Rodriguez, will be playing the 3rd movement Listen to how a melody starts with the clarinet and is then passed to the flute soloist The flute sails over the orchestra with a virtuosic melody What you think about when you hear this piece? Do you hear how the main theme returns several times, sandwiched between several contrasting sections? FOLLOW THIS LINK to listen to the Carl Reinecke Flute Concerto Miguel Rodriguez, flute soloist Miguel Rodriguez is a junior at Larkin High School right here in Elgin where he is involved in the Visual Performing Arts Academy (VPAA) — a rigorous program focused around music, dance, acting and various other art forms where he has grown immensely as a musician through performances and seminars Miguel has been playing flute for years and since 2016 has been studying with ESO flutist Scott Metlicka For years he has been a member of the Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestra Uniquely to this season he is the flute player in the Earl Clemens Wind Quintet — a high-caliber honors chamber ensemble in the EYSO that travels around the Chicagoland area to perform and receive guest coachings from orchestral professionals – and at times featured on 98.7 WFMT Chicago’s Classical Radio! Miguel also plays the saxophone on which he enjoys playing jazz and is teaching himself to play the piano He has participated in summer festivals including the Birch Creek Music Performance Center in Wisconsin In addition to his passion for music, Miguel loves to run and read nonfiction He hopes to one day reach the dream he has had since he started playing the flute: to play in a professional orchestra and have has own flute teaching studio Elgin Symphony Orchestra Symphony in Space Page 10 An Interview with Miguel Rodriguez Why did you decide to play the flute?  Growing up, I was always exposed to the loud and lively sounds of the trumpet and other powerful brass instruments in the music of my culture: Mariachi Bands, Mexican Bandas, and Tamborazo Zacatecano (a popular type of dancing music featuring powerful hits from drums and typically high-register trumpet) I always found myself singing melodies to these tunes and they never left my memory From then on, I was well aware that I wanted to play an instrument in where it was often featured in the melodic writing of a composer However, though it had the same initial proposal of melodies, I knew that the Trumpet wasn’t the instrument that I wanted to play I always thought — to which I now know is not the case — that the Trumpet was confined to one sound profile and I wanted to play an instrument that was able to express one melody in a variety of different shapes and colors When I heard the sound of the flute I was immediately intrigued by the veracity and interchangeability of sound I wanted to hear someone else play the flute to see if the sound profile changed, and if my interpretations were right Surely enough, the color was different It was at that moment that I knew that the flute was for me; it had the exposure to melodic material that I wanted, but I had the ability to express it however I wanted to, and was not confined (Still in respect to the conductor.)  Who is your favorite flute player/mentor?  As an aspiring flutist, I have met many players, teachers, and mentors who have influenced my playing immensely It is a combination of their playing concepts and my careful study that I am the player in which I am today Out of the many that I have met, Scott Metlicka, my private teacher, is most definitely the most influential individual in my playing Besides the core shaping of my musicianship, Scott has taught me what it means to be a musician and how beautiful the art of music is He has led me to realize that being a musician isn’t only to express what you’re feeling and you’re thinking about, but to also help others understand what you’re trying to encapsulate in a way that words can’t Through these past five years, Scott has helped me realize my love for the power of music in an incredible way.  What is it about the Reinecke Flute Concerto that you love the most?  The Reinecke Flute Concerto was a piece of music that I first heard when I was in seventh grade I knew that the piece was at a level of difficulty much too high for my facility of the instrument at the time, but I immediately noticed the power and emotion that was evoked by the lines in which the German Composer Carl Reinecke had written Every time in which I had the privilege to listen to the piece, I was again flattered by how it made me feel When I had finally gotten the chance to learn the piece in all of its remarkability, I knew that I had to attach a storyline behind it — a technique that I learned from Scott Metlicka, mentioned above The story that I try to tell with the piece, has to with the amount of work and perseverance it takes to achieve something; for example, becoming the captain of a sports team or achieving your wildest dreams Every time the main melodic motif comes back, it is stronger and very similar to another attempt at success The technical and flashy parts proceeding the motif reflects the hard work and dedicated time behind the success and the lyrical melodies (not any less intense) reflects the beauty in all of the struggle Finally, the Coda is the moment of truth where we get the opportunity to showcase all of the hard work: a final exam, a tryout, or a graduation Then as the piece comes to an exciting and exuberant close, it is with the last chord that we see the resemblance of success and accomplishment This is why I love the piece so much Because in a sense, it reminds me of why I what I and what the future of anyone with a dream can hold.  Elgin Symphony Orchestra Symphony in Space Page 11 How much you practice?  I am well aware that this may sound scary or even absurd to some, but I often find myself putting in three hours of careful and dedicated practice on my flute alone These three hours are divided into blocks where I focus specifics in my repertoire, technique, and musicality I approach the practice of my secondary instrument, the saxophone, similarly At first, I would have never thought that I would be putting in this much effort into something like music but this practice of music has become something I believe in Through the words of the Jazz Trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, “Excellence costs,” and excellence is what I strive to achieve—what we should all try to achieve.  What does a flute concerto have to with a space-themed concert, you ask? How about a flute-playing astronaut who brought her flute and played it in space? Catherine “Cady” Coleman is a veteran of two Space Shuttle missions and logged 159 days in space On April 12, 2011, she played live in orbit via video link for the audience of Jethro Tull’s show in Russian in honor of the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s flight Click to watch that performance here (Yuri Gagarin was the first man in outer space Learn more about Yuri Gagarin’s flight here.) Here is a video link of Cady Coleman playing her flute on the space shuttle Elgin Symphony Orchestra Symphony in Space Page 12 MOTHERSHIP By Mason Bates b January 23, 1977 Fun facts about Mason Bates: B  ates won a Grammy for his opera “The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs” in 2019 H  e is also a DJ and is best known for integrating electronics into his compositions He was the composer-in-residence for Chicago Symphony, 2010 -2015 Musical America’s Composer of the Year 2018 He is the second-most performed living composer in the U.S What’s cool about this music: This piece of music was written for orchestra and electronica The term electronica encompasses many types of electronic music including techno, house, ambient, jungle intended for dancing and listening Mothership was premiered on March 20, 2011 at the Sydney (Australia) Opera House with the YouTube Symphony Orchestra The performance was broadcast live on YouTube and had almost million viewers! Mason Bates: “This energetic opener imagines the orchestra as a mothership that is ‘docked’ by several visiting soloists, who offer brief but virtuosic riffs on the work’s thematic material over action-packed electro-acoustic orchestral figuration.” Watch Bates discuss further how this piece was conceived: click here Learn more about Electronic Music: by David A Gauger Former electronics engineer Former physics, earth science, computer science, and photography teacher and small aircraft pilot hobbyist Currently enjoys ham radio, and is an avid synthesizer musician and performer ELECTRONIC MUSIC CONCEPTS The Three Ess’es Of Electronic Music Most of us have an electronic keyboard They’re fun and we can make nice music by playing them Let’s explore how they work, just a little, not too difficult to understand SYNTHESIZERS The word “synthesis” means “one out of many” Well, what does that mean? It really is quite simple if we learn just a little about how it’s made and how it works A Flute sounds different from a Guitar because of the shape of the sound waves which reach our ears When different shaped waves hit our ears, the eardrum vibrates and sends sound signals to our brain and our brain says, “Oh, the shape of that wave is like a violin, or a piano or any of a great number of instruments It’s all in the shape of the wave In your electronic synthesizer keyboard, little circuits make electrical waves, rather like water waves and these little electric waves are smooth like water waves Or we send these waves to a loud speaker or earbuds, it sounds like a flute, or even a ladies voice Long ago, scientists started mixing lots of these smooth waves together and found that it changed the overall shape of the result Remember, we said that the shape of the wave determines the character or timbre of the sound Well, if smooth waves sound like a flute, then square waves might sound like an oboe, and a different shape may sound like a piano To make a long story short, your keyboard has a whole bunch of little smooth wave generators and by adding them together we can make the shape of the wave change into triangle waves, square waves and so on Just about any sound that you can imagine, even sound effects like thunder and animals growling and so on, can be made So, one out of many means one complex shaped wave from the addition of a Elgin Symphony Orchestra Symphony in Space Page 13 whole bunch of smooth waves together amazing and beautiful to listen to Modern synthesizer keyboards make sounds which are pretty close to the sound of most any instrument you can name, even instruments that don’t exist in the real world Now that is cool One out of many one complex wave out of the addition and mixing of a whole bunch of smooth tone generators a synthesizer and out comes beautiful music SAMPLING Some modern music keyboards use a technique called “sampling” to obtain and reproduce sounds Recall in our discussion of the synthesizers that the shape of the wave determines the character of the sound, what makes a clarinet sound different from a trumpet In samplers we don’t have to worry about all of the mixing together to get a specific sound We simply record it, only it’s done by what we call sampling You’ve probably talked about graphing in math class, how a curving line can describe math number relationships When you drew your graph you probably started with a list of numbers, each of which was the height of the graph on the paper For instance, as you moved across the paper, the numbers 11 12 12 10 described how far above the zero line that the graph was rising These numbers are a “digital” record of the shape of the graph A musical “sampler” is very similar A recording engineer records the sound of a real instrument, say a violin His equipment samples, remembers the height of the sound wave at regular intervals, and remembers the numbers in memory Now he has a copy of the wave shape from a real violin, captured by the series of numbers it is a digital recording Now he’s all done He can recall that sequence of numbers over and over again, at a very high rate, and run them through an electronic ‘chip’ which produces an electrical signal whose strength is determined by how large the number is If he feeds this electrical wave into a loud speaker it sounds just like a real violin and it even better than a synthesizer can by synthesis So really, a sampler “records” the sound by capturing the height of the sound wave in a series of numbers as the wave from the violin passes by For all of this to work the numbers must be recorded “sampled” at a very high rate 88 thousand numbers per second 44 thousand samples for the left stereo channel and 44 thousand for the right stereo channel wow, that is fast, and it takes a humongous amount of memory to store all of those numbers Until recently, we didn’t have huge memories or high speed electronics, but now that we do, the sampler captures sounds much more accurately than can be produced by a synthesizer A sampled sound is so accurate that very few people can tell if it is a real violin playing or a sampled reproduction Synthesizers and Samplers what’s the third Ess of the three Ess’es of electronic music? SEQUENCING What the heck is a sequencer? Well, the Synthesizer and Sampler produced sounds the sequencer records your performance What you mean performance? It’s best explained by using an example Suppose you play a song your keyboard There are lots of things going on which describe what made up your lovely song What notes did you play? How hard did you hit the key? How hard did you press the key after you hit it? How long did you hold the keys down ? When did you release the keys? The sequencer records all of this information, and records this information at a rate of 38 thousand recordings per second What the sequencer does not record is, did you use a piano sound or a clarinet sound? How fast did you play the piece? What key were you using, was it the key of C or Bb or what was it? When you play back your sequence, it will play back the performance just as you played it same sound same tempo same key and so on But and this is a big thing You can change the clarinet to a guitar, you can speed up or slow down the tempo and you can change what key you played in perhaps not C but maybe D You can customize your performance each time you play it And that’s not all Suppose you missed a note in the middle somewhere With a good sequencer you can go back and change that one note to correct the error Wow, does that suggest why professional recordings never never include any errors, while live performances often So the sequence can be kept for ever, and changed each time you play it What a powerful tool the sequencer is too Does this help you to understand the three Ess’es of Electronic Music? I surely hope it does Now, go make music! Elgin Symphony Orchestra Symphony in Space Page 14 STAR WARS OPENING THEME By John Williams b February 8, 1932 Fun facts about John Williams: He’s the son of a CBS Radio Orchestra percussionist H  e’s the second-most nominated person for the Academy Awards right after Walt Disney He has composed scores for more than 100 films! When John Williams won the Academy Award for ‘Jaws’ in 1976, he walked up to receive his award from the orchestra pit where he was conducting the orchestra In 2000 Williams composed and arranged a work for the inauguration of President Barack Obama What’s cool about this music: Follow the link below and listen Why you think this music is so great? What kind of emotion does this music stir in you? Can you feel the excitement? Name the instruments that you hear What instrument is the most prominent in the beginning? What are the similarities between this piece and the first piece on the program, Also Sprach Zarathustra by Richard Strauss? Do you think John Williams may have been influenced by Strauss? FOLLOW THIS LINK to listen to Star Wars Opening Theme by John Williams CLICK HERE for the Star Wars Rhythm page Elgin Symphony Orchestra Symphony in Space Page 15 ETIQUETTE FOR CONCERT GOERS Leave your cell phone at home! (Or at least turn it off) No gum or candy Picture taking is not allowed! (That includes videos) Refrain from talking Applaud when the concertmaster walks on stage That is the signal that the concert is about to begin Careful, if you think the piece is over, wait a few seconds until you hear other people clapping…sometimes it’s just a pause in the music (You should never be the only one clapping!) When the conductor’s arms are down, it’s usually time to clap Smile! Bring a good attitude…you are going to love this concert! Elgin Symphony Orchestra Symphony in Space Page 16 STEPHEN SQUIRES RESIDENT CONDUCTOR Mr Squires has had a distinguished career (now 41 years) as a collegiate professor Currently he is Professor of Music in the Music Conservatory at the Chicago College of Performing Arts, Roosevelt University, where he conducts the CCPA Wind Ensemble and teaches in the Core Music Studies curriculum Prior to his appointment at CCPA, Mr Squires served on the artist faculty at the Northern Illinois University School of Music Stephen Squires is in his 28th season as Resident Conductor of the Elgin Symphony Orchestra Mr Squires received musical training at the Eastman School of Music Preparatory School, and earned a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from the Crane School of Music, at the State University of New York at Potsdam Mr Squires also earned a Master of Music in Instrumental Conducting/Trumpet Performance at California State University, Northridge In addition to his duties with the Elgin Symphony Orchestra, he is the Music Director of the Salt Creek Ballet Orchestra, the Millar Brass, the Illinois Brass Band, and Principal Guest Conductor of the Fox Valley Symphony He is the former Music Director of the Illinois Chamber Symphony Mr Squires has conducted recordings for Delos, Spring Hill (a division of EMI) and Centaur Labels An ardent proponent of new music, he has conducted over 80 world premiere performances Mr Squires has guest conducted the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Syracuse Symphony, the Green Bay Symphony, the Columbus Symphony and the Chicago Composers Orchestra Mr Squires is also an accomplished recital accompanist and freelance trumpeter SPECIAL THANKS Many thanks to Susan Carlson for her contributions to this Teachers Guide Ms Carlson is a comprehensive music teacher in Palatine School District 15 She is passionate about teaching the magical sounds of the orchestra and all its instruments Currently she teaches at Willow Bend Elementary School in Rolling Meadows and serves the feeder students of Plum Grove Jr High, Carl Sandberg Jr High, Rolling Meadows High School, and Fremd High School She is a flute, piccolo and recorder player and performs as a hobbyist with the Buffalo Grove Community Band She is also a member of the Elgin Symphony Education Committee This handbook could not have been created without the help of Leslie Wolko of Wolko Design Group, Inc Leslie’s vision for the graphics for this concert and the layout of this handbook has been extraordinary and we appreciate all that she does for the education programs at the Elgin Symphony Elgin Symphony Orchestra Symphony in Space Page 17 ABOUT THE ELGIN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA The ESO was founded as a community orchestra at the Elgin Community College by Doug Steensland in 1950 In 1971 Maestro Hillis was appointed Music Director, and the Orchestra’s artistic growth grew significantly Maestro Hillis was an incredibly talented person She was born in Kokomo, Indiana During World War II, she was a civilian flight instructor and contemplated a career as a professional golfer Ms Hillis broke many barriers in her career Her leadership and founding of the Chicago Symphony Chorus led her to eventually conduct major orchestras around the country She captured national attention in 1977 when she substituted on short notice for an ailing Sir Georg Solti and conducted the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in Mahler’s Symphony No at Carnegie Hall Ms Hillis was succeeded by Maestro Robert Hanson in 1985 as the Music Director of the ESO Under Maestro Hanson’s leadership, the ensemble became a fully professional ensemble In 1988, 1989, and 2005, the ESO was named Orchestra of the Year by the Illinois Council of Orchestras The ESO was the first three-time winner of this award, which recognizes programming excellence, artistic quality and leadership Maestro Hanson stepped down in 2011 In 2013, after an international search that featured 200 applicants, the ESO appointed Andrew Grams as the fourth Music Director to lead this orchestra Maestro Grams has appeared with many of the great orchestras of the world as Conductor Ironically, Maestros Grams and Hillis both received their conducting training from the renowned conductor Otto-Werner Mueller With an annual operation budget of just under $3 million, the ESO is Illinois’ premier regional orchestra Audiences of over 40,000 are served each year, and over 20,000 students are reached yearly with a combination of Traveling Ensembles and the Ainsworth Concerts for Youth The Elgin Symphony continues to enlarge its mission as one of the foremost education orchestras in the country, adding programs for adults like the Listeners Club at the Gail Borden Public Library and the Elgin Symphony Orchestra Listeners Club on Huntley Community Radio A partnership with Advocate Hospitals (Musicians Care) brings professional musicians weekly into area hospitals with healing and soothing music Elgin Symphony Orchestra Symphony in Space Page 18 Mars, The Bringer of War is in 5/4 meter Please locate the measures that have beats and put a circle around them Remind students that the whole rest can function as the meter indicates Elgin Symphony Orchestra Symphony in Space Page 19 Listening – Color the theme as it plays Color the rest of the page in between the sections or during the development of each theme Elgin Symphony Orchestra Symphony in Space Page 20 Star Wars Rhythms Elgin Symphony Orchestra Symphony in Space Page 21