In collaboration with Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute (WMI), Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra is participating in WMI’s Link Up program during the 2013–2014 season. Link Up pairs orchestras across the country, with schools in their local communities, inviting them to learn about orchestral repertoire through a year-long, hands-on music curriculum. Each year, 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students will explore a core musical concept in one of three distinct curricula, such as rhythm in The Orchestra Rocks, melody in The Orchestra Sings, and melodic motifs in The Orchestra Moves. Utilizing materials provided free-of-charge by WMI, teachers guide students in exploring music through a composer’s lens, with students participating in active music making in the classroom, performing repertoire on recorder, violin, voice, or body percussion and taking part in creative work such as composing their own pieces inspired by the orchestral music they have studied.
The culmination of the yearlong program is a live performance in which students have the opportunity to sing and play the recorder or violin along with the Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra. This performance often serves as students’ first concert experience and provides them with the opportunity to apply the musical concepts they have studied.
Link Up’s national partnerships grew out of the program’s ongoing work with New York City schools, through which Carnegie Hall has engaged hundreds of thousands of students in musical learning since its inception in 1985.
Participating schools in the Link Up program: Cromer, DE Miguel, Killip, Knoles, Puente de Hozho, Grand Canyon, Maine Consolidated (Parks), Flagstaff Junior Academy, Mountain School, Peak School, Pine Forest, Starr, Marshall, Kinsey and Sechrist Elementary Schools.
“The Link-Up program has given our students an amazing opportunity to prepare for a fantastic event,” said Nate Szyman, Music Teacher at the Peak School. “The chance to play and sing along with the Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra has been extremely motivational and exciting. Also, the program has supplied incredible resources to make it all happen—including wonderful workbooks and recorders for participating students! The curriculum has been clear and engaging. I am especially excited that this is our first year doing Link-Up and I expect it will only improve going forward.”
The Link Up concert is an educational workshop and field trip exclusively for the participating students and schools and will be performed at Ardrey Memorial Auditorium on the NAU campus, Tuesday, February 4, at 9am and 11am. This program is made possible by funding from the Flagstaff Community Foundation, Forest Highlands Foundation, Arizona Commission on the Arts, Flagstaff Cultural Partners, The City of Flagstaff’s BBB Revenues, Coconino County Superintendent of Schools and Full Circle Trade & Thrift. For information on this concert and our 64th season, visit www.flagstaffsymphony.org or call (928) 774-5107.