Education
Overview
Discovery Ensemble’s outreach program is the only music educational venture of its kind in Boston. Three or four times a year the orchestra presents a complete cycle of musical events for Boston school children. In the course of each cycle the orchestra brings interactive workshops to at least two Boston schools – the main target areas are Dorchester and Roxbury communities – followed by a large schools’ concert at the Strand Theatre in Dorchester. The schools’ concerts are held on a weekday morning and are attended by around 1,200 children.
At each of these workshops a major piece of music – not “children’s music” but truly great music – is played, taken apart and explained in a student-friendly manner that the kids find exciting and involving. They quickly discard any associations they may have had that these classical works are boring, or for old people, or for rich people, or just not for them.
The schools’ concert a few days later builds on the work that was done in the workshops. The very dynamic presentation of the music, however, with lots of interaction between the performers
on stage and the 1200 kids in the audience, makes it accessible – and very thrilling – even to the students who did not attend a workshop. When the children leave the Strand at the end of the concert many of them – and many of their teachers – are amazed to find that this unfamiliar music – a symphony by Beethoven or a concerto by Ligeti – has in a short space of time become a part of their lives.
In the week following the schools' concert a group of players from Discovery Ensemble returns to the schools where the workshops were held for a mini-workshop. This is a follow-up to the work that was done in the workshop and in the schools' concert. A small group of players drawn from the orchestra – a string quartet, a wind quintet, a brass quintet or some other small group – returns to the same children to work in greater depth and reinforce the points that were already made.
For example, a recent complete cycle of school activities, in October 2010, consisted of three parts:
1) The whole orchestra went into several schools and gave workshops on Beethoven's Symphony No. 3, "Eroica", first movement only.
2) At the schools' concert a few days later several other movements of "Eroica" were played and explained, as well as other music that tied into the theme of the concert. This concert was attended by the kids in the original workshop and about 500 others.
3) In the week following the schools' concert a string quartet made up of players in the orchestra returned to the schools where the workshops were held to do a mini-workshop. These focused on movements from Beethoven's string quartets, expanding the students' understanding of the range and meaning of Beethoven's achievement.
Discovery Ensemble is unique. By bringing a group of passionate musicians into the students' environment we maximize the impact music has on students' lives. The workshops dispel the myth that classical music is boring and for old people. The kids at the workshops then come to the concert feeling invested in what is happening, which opens the door to a life enriched by music.
The schools at which Discovery Ensemble has given workshops over the past two years include:
Boston Collegiate Charter School
John Paul II Catholic Academy: Lower Mills, Neponset and Mattapan campuses
Edward W. Brooke Charter School (Roslindale)
Lilla G. Frederick Pilot Middle School (Dorchester)
The Match Middle School (Jamaica Plain)
South Boston Catholic Academy (South Boston)
Cathedral Grammar School (Boston, South End)
La Vida Program (Lynn)
In April 2010 Discovery Ensemble was the subject of a National Public Radio feature story entitled “A Young Conductor Leads a Noble Experiment.” You can hear that story online here.
There was also an informative television feature about Discovery Ensemble, broadcast in April 2010 by BNN News. You can watch it here.
For more information about Discovery Ensemble’s education programs please contact our Education Department at 617-800-7588 or e-mail education@discoveryensemble.com.
