The SCORE: From The Earth to the Moon and Beyond! Jacob Joyce, Conductor Strauss Introduction from Also sprach Zarathustra Adams Short Ride in a Fast Machine Debussy Clair de Lune Beckel From the Earth to the Moon and Beyond Mendelssohn "Scherzo" from A Midsummer Night's Dream Holst Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity from The Planets Williams "Main Title" from Star Wars February 5, 6 & 13 March 1 May 7 & 28 Did You know? This year, we are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the moon landing! All of the music you will hear at the concert will be space-themed. Speaking of space, do you know the names and order of the eight planets in our solar system (Pluto doesn t count)? Can you make up your own sentence to help you remember them in order? (see bottom of page for solution) Sentence: Inside this Issue: Strauss, Adams & Debussy 2 Beckel & Mendelssohn 3 Meet the Symphony Holst, Williams & 4 Meet the Conductor Meet the Narrator & Tricky Timeline Recorder, Word Scramble & Word Search 5 6-7 The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1930 and became a professional orchestra with salaried musicians in 1937. Today, the ISO is the largest performing arts organization in Indiana and performs hundreds of concerts every year. In September 2011, Krzysztof Urbański became our Music Director, and he is one of the youngest Music Directors of any major American orchestra. My Very Excellent Mother Just Served Us Noodles. Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
2 Richard Strauss (1864-1949) (Pronounced: Strowss) German Composer Strauss began composing music at age six, and his first symphony premiered when he was 17. Some of his compositions are called tone poems, which means they were written to represent or describe something. He was known for writing music that had lots of surprising qualities and clashing sounds. Strauss lived in Germany during WWII. Because his daughter-in-law and grandsons were Jewish, Strauss made a deal with the Nazis in order to protect them. John Adams (Born 1947) (Pronounced: Add-ums) American Composer Adams was born in New England, and his father taught him how to play clarinet. He played in many different community orchestras and marching bands in his childhood, and he began composing music at age 10. He has received numerous honorary degrees, and Grammy awards. His music is expansive and expressive, and has encouraged other composers to create this kind of music as well. Do you play a musical instrument like these composers? Claude Debussy (1862-1918) (Pronounced: Deb-you-see) French Composer Debussy did not grow up in a musical family. He almost James became Beckel a painter, (1862-1918) but his aunt convinced him to take (Pronounced: piano lessons. Deb-you-see) People sometimes thought he was moody, and he wasn t American Composer well-received by everyone. He always continued creating no matter what anyone else thought. His music was popular during his lifetime, even though some critics gave him bad reviews.
3 James Beckel (Born 1948) (Pronounced: Bek-uhl) American Composer James Beckel was born and raised in the Midwest and graduated from Indiana University. He lives in Indianapolis. He was Principal Trombone of the Indianapolis Symphony for 49 seasons! His daughter, Julie, is also a musician in the ISO she plays French horn. They played 11 seasons together on stage. He has been composing for many years, and one of his pieces, The Glass Bead Game, was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize! Meet Your Composer Where did you grow up? I grew up in Marion, Ohio. It s a lovely, small community just north of Columbus. Do you remember how old you were when you first became involved in music? I began playing trombone in the 5 th grade. I also played piano as a child. That s where my love of composing music started. As I was practicing my Chopin pieces, new musical ideas would pop into my head, and I d start playing around. What is your favorite food? Ice cream! Mint chocolate chip is probably my favorite flavor. Who is your favorite super hero? I would have to pick Superman. What is your favorite animal? A bunny rabbit they re so cute and soft and normally they don t bite you. If you could visit one planet, which one would it be? Why? I think if I could be in a spacesuit, it would be cool to see Saturn with all of its rings! Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) (Pronounced Mehn-dehl-son) German Composer Felix Mendelssohn grew up in a wealthy family, and his mother taught him language, music, and art. He played in public for the first time when he was nine years old, and was composing all sorts of music by age 12. Unlike many composers, he was seen as a celebrity and a leading composer, conductor, and pianist during his lifetime. His sister, Fanny Mendelssohn, was also a talented composer. Since it wasn t customary for women to be composers, Felix published some of her pieces under his own name.
4 Gustav Holst (1874-1934) (Pronounced: Wholest) English Composer Holst was born in England. His father played organ and his mother taught piano. As a child, he had terrible eyesight and asthma, so he had a slightly later beginning to his musical studies than other composers. His first instrument was piano, but he developed a nerve disorder in his hands, so he played trombone instead. He met fellow composer, Ralph Vaughn Williams, in 1895, and it was the beginning of a life-long friendship. Vaughn Williams introduced him to English folk music, and they shared their love of music and poetry. John Williams (Born 1932) (Pronounced: Will-yums) American Composer Williams had a love of music from a young age because his father was a musician, and he gave young Williams piano lessons. He was drafted into the Air Force at age 19. After serving for three years, he moved to New York to play music professionally. Williams eventually decided to focus on composing music and has written the musical scores for over 100 movies (including Star Wars, Harry Potter, and E.T.) He was a guest conductor here at the ISO last year! Meet Your Conductor: Jacob Joyce Where did you grow up? I grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, not so far from Indianapolis! What is your favorite food? My favorite food is actually something that many people find disgusting oysters! I always love eating them when I get the chance, and since I lived in Boston for a few years, I was treated to some amazing seafood. What do you like to do when you re not at work? When I am not at work, I watch a lot of sports, read, exercise, and take care of my plants! I also like watching TV shows, especially on Netflix, and hanging out with my friends in the orchestra.
5 Who is your favorite super hero? I think my favorite superhero if you can call him a superhero is Indiana Jones. I loved the movies as a kid (I still love them), and for a while I wanted to grow up to be him! What is your favorite animal? My favorite animal is the slow loris they are a kind of miniature sloth, and they are super cute. They have a great approach to life: a lot of sleeping, dangling from branches, and relaxing. If you could visit one planet, which one would it be? Why? Tough question! I think I would visit Neptune; it is the farthest one from the sun, so in some ways, it s the most mysterious. I think there would be a lot of cool things to see there, if I were able to stay warm enough! Meet Some of Your Narrators: Indianapolis native Scott Hoke has been hosting events at the ISO for 17 seasons. He is also a professional voiceover artist, with clients including the U.S. Olympic Team, NCAA, Eli Lilly, Honda, and many more. He loves music, and studied classical piano as a child, played bassoon in the school band, and plays double bass in the jazz quintet The StoreyTellers. Dr. Caldwell is a professor of Industrial Engineering, Aeronautics and Astronautics at Purdue University. He focuses on helping astronauts work together on difficult tasks. Cora Walker is an 8th grader at Paul Hadley Middle School. She enjoys studying math, science, and the arts at school, and is looking forward to a career as an astronaut for NASA. Tricky Timeline Fill in the blanks with the name of the composer who lived during each time period. 1770 1820 1870 1920 1970 Present France England Germany United States
6 What Do You Think? 1) Looking at the timeline on page 5, could any of these composers have known each other? Which composers could not have known each other? 2) Which country has the most composers represented in this year s Discovery Concerts? 3) If you could meet one of these composers, who would it be? Why? What questions would you ask him/her? 4) If you had to pick one of these composers to be on your kickball team, who would it be? Why? (Use the blank page near the back for your answers.) Sing or Play Recorder in the Classroom This year, we won t be playing recorders during the concert, but you can learn to sing and play this melody for a lullaby that was written about the moon. Word Scramble wrote the music for the Star Wars movies. SMLAWILI The fifth planet from the sun is. PRJIUET Your conductor s name is. OAJCB EJYCO continued creating no matter what people said. SYSBUDE published music for his sister. SHMSNEENODL
7 Word Search Concert Etiquette Tips: Enjoy the music (and let others enjoy it, too). During the performance, please remain quiet and in your seat until the concert is over. Please, no eating, drinking, or chewing gum in the hall. Photographing or recording any part of the performance is not allowed.
8 Work Space Thanks to our generous sponsors! (Confirmed as of 12/19/18) TITLE SPONSOR PRESENTING SPONSOR PREMIER SPONSORS References available at www.indianapolissymphony.org.education