January 31, 2003
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Portland, Ore. … In an effort to deepen its service in providing music education opportunities for Oregonians of all ages, the Oregon Symphony will launch a Community Music Partnership with four months of programs in Klamath Falls, announced Director of Education and Community Programs Michael Kosmala today. Groups of Symphony musicians will travel to Klamath Falls monthly beginning in February to present concerts, demonstrations and music education events for people of all ages in partnership with The Ross Ragland Theater. The Community Music Partnership is funded in part by a grant from the Jeld-Wen Foundation.
The goal of Community Music Partnerships is to build meaningful relationships that ensure a lasting impact on a targeted state community each season,” said Kosmala. “We hope to strengthen the statewide vision for music education and to leave behind resources that will serve communities long into the future.”
Serving children and families has been a priority for The Ross Ragland Theatre since the renovated art deco theatre opened in 1989. More than 10,000 school students attend theatre events annually, and six weeks of summer classes, workshops and performance opportunities every summer.
Community Music Partnerships expand on the Symphony’s previous touring program in a number of significant ways, said Kosmala. In the past, the Symphony traveled to two or three communities during the year for one or two days each, presenting concerts and educational activities. The new Community Music Partnerships focus on an extended, in-depth relationship with one community per season. Klamath Falls was chosen because of strong local interest there in having the Symphony present its programs to the community. Together with a steering committee of community and education leaders in Klamath Falls, the Symphony has planned a number of exciting and interesting opportunities for community members to interact with musicians and music in a variety of ways.
The Symphony will visit Klamath Falls for three to five days each month, during which students will interact personally with Symphony musicians whose specialty is bringing symphonic music to life for young new listeners. The Symphony’s community music partnership team includes professionally trained musicians, an inspired narrator, and music specialists who have worked with teachers in 259 schools around the state.
In 1993, the Symphony began its annual commitment to present concerts and educational activities for the benefit of students and adults who live outside the Portland region and have little or no access to live symphonic music. School activities were designed to bring musicians and students into a close relationship where the musicians could convey the excitement and depth of classical compositions, and students had the opportunity to become acquainted with the sounds and effects of classical instruments. Eventually the program allowed the orchestra to travel to three communities each year, providing youth concerts, a wide array of educational experiences, community activities and a public concert over a period of two or three days. Based on this experience in towns and cities throughout the state, the Symphony now sees great value in pooling all its resources into an extended residency in one community, rather than three, over the course of a year. This focus on one geographic area makes it possible to schedule repeated visits that provide consistent, year-long sequential learning opportunities and support for to incorporate music instruction into their classroom curriculum.
A primary goal in the development of the Symphony’s presence in a community has been to respond to the particular needs and desires expressed by the community itself. In Klamath Falls, a Community Steering Committee was formed to work with the Oregon Symphony team in determining which of the Symphony’s resources would best meet their needs. Committee members include Susan Malins, Executive Director, Ross Ragland Theatre; Doug Smith, Director of Curriculum/Instruction, Klamath County School District; Cec Amuchastegui, Director of Secondary Education/School Improvement and Communications, Board member, Ross Ragland Theatre; Fran Gearhard, Board member/community representative; Jean Pinniger, Board member/community representative; and Cathy Seus, Board member/community representative.
The central focus of the Symphony’s activities in Klamath Falls will be on extensive direct interaction with students from all city and county schools, including Kinderkonzerts for grades K-2 at The Ross Ragland Cultural Center, ensemble performances at The Ross Ragland Theatre for students in grades 3-5, master classes and band clinics for talented instrumentalists in the city and county middle and high schools, and a Big Band public concert with Associate Conductor Norman Leyden in The Ross Ragland Theatre.
These live ensemble concerts are the latest addition to the age-specific, sequential learning opportunities developed by the Education and Community Programs Department to help make music an essential and equal part of the total school curriculum in Oregon. Kinderkonzerts introduce children in grades K-2 to all the instruments in the orchestra and the elements of music through narration, demonstrations of individual instruments, and active participation with the musicians. Hundreds of children in grades K-2 in Klamath Falls, through participation in four monthly visits by the Symphony Ensembles, will begin to gain an understanding of the elements of music and the four major families of musical instruments that make up a symphony orchestra. Concerts will take place in The Ross Ragland Cultural Center where the children can sit on the floor next to the musicians, rather than in a formal concert hall. The four families of instruments will be presented as follows: In February, percussion instruments will be featured, March’s concert will focus on woodwinds, in April the brasses are featured and in May children will be introduced to the strings.
Teacher’s Guides and CDs created by the Symphony specifically for this program are provided free of charge as preparatory materials to every teacher whose students will be involved in the Kinderkonzerts series. The illustrated Teacher’s Guide is organized around the program that students will hear, and the CD provides musical excerpts that support the lessons in the guide, so that students can be prepared for their new musical experience.
With a seating capacity of 700, The Ross Ragland Theatre can accommodate students in grades 3-5 for lively ensemble performances of material selected to illustrate different performance themes in music. The program is designed to encourage students to share the magic and excitement of a live performance with Symphony musicians.
The Symphony recognizes that Klamath Falls city schools have a strong music program including choral groups and string orchestras in middle and high schools. In addition, students in county schools are serious instrumentalists even though many of their schools don’t have a formalized music program. Master classes and coaching sessions conducted in small ensembles or with individuals by musicians of the Symphony provide a powerful experience for any student interested in a musical career. They also provide an opportunity for classmates to observe and gain musical insight applicable to their own individual talents.
Community-based performers, local ensembles, private teachers and music students outside the school system will be invited to join master classes and coaching sessions, as well.
Associate Conductor Norman Leyden will conduct band clinics for middle schools and high schools, using the Jazz Ensemble that is part of his Big Band orchestra.
Other educational activities for Grades 6-8 are available, such as “Informances” which bring musicians and students together for informal performances and discussions, and “Instrument Petting Zoos” which give students a chance to strike, blow, and pluck real instruments with the help of Symphony musicians.
On May 3, 2003, at The Ross Ragland Theatre, Leyden will conduct his 18-piece big band in “Swing With the Big Band” featuring the best of Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey and other big band composers. This year marks Leyden’s 33rd season with the Oregon Symphony. From his days as arranger for the Glenn Miller Army/Air Force Band through an outstanding career conducting both popular and classical music, Leyden has remained enormously popular with audiences and critics alike. Reviewers’ comments include “[Leyden is] one of those marvelous jazz clarinetists who can bend backward into a perfect C while hitting a few good licks,” and “Leyden has a knack for choosing the kind of music people want to hear; and he turns out smooth, sophisticated arrangements with his own pen.”