Program Description

The Callisto String Trio’s “Music Is…”program is presented by a professional violinist, violist and cellist from our core ensemble. Where possible a Socratic teaching model is employed; the artists lead the students through a line of inquiry about what music is and what it can be. Using excerpts from standard masterworks and new repertoire the musicians promote awareness of the relationship between music and the feelings and emotions experienced in everyday life. The program also introduces the “time” travel concept of music, showing students how music offers a window to life in bygone eras.

The artists also demonstrate the difference among their instruments, drawing the correlation between the size of the instruments and the range in which they are played and heard.

The program is constructed in a modular format allowing the musicians to “customize” the presentation mid-stream so as to tailor the audience experience to the age group and setting for the performance.

The assembled students for each presentation can be from any grade level, but the ideal audience should comprise no more than two to three adjacent grade levels.

Concepts:
Music is Song; Music is Dance; Music is Language; Music is Fun ; Music can be used to express any emotion

List of terms:

string trio
rhythm
harmony
melody
pianissimo/piano
fortissimo/forte
pizzicato
motive
rosin
bow
string
sound wave
solo

Musical excerpts:

Beethoven…….. Serenade Op 8
Mozart ………….Divertimento for string trio
Taneyev………. String Trio
Schoenberg….. String Trio
Bach……………Suites for ‘cello (or viola)
Bach……………Sonatas and Partitas for Solo violin

GUIDELINES FOR FOLLOW-UP DISCUSSION

Q: What feelings can you get from music?
A: Any feelings!

Q: What do we call a music group that consists of a violin, a viola, and a cello?
A: string trio

Q: What is the musical word for “very soft”?
A: pianissimo

Q: What is the musical word for “very loud”?
A: fortissimo

Q: What is the word for plucking the strings?
A: pizzicato

Q: What is the string instrument that is larger than a violin and smaller than a cello?
A: viola

Q: Is a larger instrument likely to be higher or lower?
A: Lower

Q: Higher pitches are produced by longer or shorter sound waves?
A: Shorter

Q: Do you have to be a professional musician in order to be a good musician?
A: no

Q: Do you need to practice in order to be a good musician?
A: yes, just as you need to study or practice other things in order to achieve a certain level of excellence

GUIDELINES FOR STUDENT FEEDBACK
ENCOURAGE YOUR STUDENTS TO WRITE TO US
USING ONE OF THESE BEGINNINGS

After today’s program, I have a different impression of “classical” music because…

Music is dance because…

Music is song because…

Music is language because…

The sound of the viola is different from the violin and the cello because…

After today’s program, I may want to play an instrument because…