Cameron Symphony Explorer Concerts
Oct 7, 8, 29 and Nov 13, 2013
“That this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom and that government of the people, by the people, and for the people shall not perish from the Earth.”
These were the powerful words spoken by Abraham Lincoln in his renowned 1868 Gettysburg Address, and they are the final words in Aaron Copland’s Lincoln Portrait, a musical landmark performed at the Cameron Symphony Explorer Concerts this year. Last month, Jones Hall had eight of these concerts, each filled to the brim with 2,700 fourth through eighth grade students leaning forward in their chair, eyes locked on the stage, soaking in each word from Narrator Mirron Willis. As his booming voice stated these final words of Lincoln’s speech, it was clear that the students understood its message. They understood freedom. They understood what being American truly means. Copland’s touching music and skillful way of incorporating these historic words created an impactful moment for these students that will last forever.
Cameron Symphony Explorer Concerts are a series of eight concerts taking place throughout October and November for more than 21,600 students. This year’s concerts explore music inspired by different forms of literature. Students experience another dimension to works of fiction, historical fiction, poetry, folktales, speeches and plays. At the concert, Associate Conductor Robert Franz explains why authors write in different styles and how composers have written music to highlight the unique qualities of those writing styles. The stories are enhanced for the students through the various colors and dynamics of the musicians’ instruments, which can audibly portray emotions, character conflicts and personalities.
To prepare the students for the concerts, teachers review stories such as The Kalevala, the Finnish epic poem that inspired Sibelius’s Lemminkainen’s Return; Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet; the Russian folktale Baba Yaga; a historical fiction story about King Egmont; and several of Abraham Lincoln’s infamous speeches. This practical study of literature coupled with a live concert on the same material allows students to develop a deeper understanding of these stories and music, and these young minds have been inspired with creativity and imagination in a way that likely surpasses what the authors originally intended.
Missed the Explorer Concerts? Registration for the Detective Concerts with the Houston Symphony is still underway and tickets are available, click -here-.
