IMMEDIATE RELEASE FEB 26, 2018 Shiva Shafii Public Relations Manager 206.215.4758 shiva.shafii@seattlesymphony.org Rosalie Contreras Vice President of Communications 206.215.4782 rosalie.contreras@seattlesymphony.org The concert was electrifying... It was one of the most phenomenal things I have ever experienced in my 28 years of teaching. Seattle Public School Teacher OVER 10,000 LOCAL STUDENTS IN GRADES 3 5 TO TAKE PART IN LINK UP, AN INTERACTIVE LIVE CONCERT EXPERIENCE, ON MARCH 6, 8 & 14 AT BENAROYA HALL OVER 1,500 OF THESE STUDENTS ALSO PARTICIPATE IN TEACHING ARTIST RESIDENCY PROGRAMS LINK UP USES HANDS-ON MUSIC EDUCATION CURRICULUM FROM CARNEGIE HALL SEATTLE, WA On March 6, 8 and 14, the Seattle Symphony will welcome around 10,000 students from 92 public and private schools, representing 30 school districts from the Puget Sound region, to Benaroya Hall for Link Up: Seattle Symphony. Following months of preparation in their own schools led by classroom teachers, music teachers or Seattle Symphony teaching artists, students will become part of the orchestra by singing and playing the recorder and other instruments from their seats, joining the Seattle Symphony in a live performance.
Laura Reynolds, Vice President of Education & Community Engagement: Link Up connects students to a live orchestra experience, and also encourages them to fully participate in the music-making process. Teachers report that their students not only learn music through this program, but they also learn citizenship, teamwork and perseverance. We believe the arts are a powerful vehicle for engaging kids in school and we re thrilled that our partner schools are enthusiastic about sharing this unique experience with their students. Link Up is a highly participatory multi-year music curriculum for 3rd to 5th graders. Over the course of each year s program, students learn to sing and play orchestral repertoire while focusing on specific concepts, including rhythm, melody, tempo, orchestration and composition. Using materials provided free of charge by Carnegie Hall s Weill Music Institute to 80 partner orchestras around the world, 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 culminating performance at Benaroya Hall often serves as students first concert experience and provides them with the opportunity to apply the musical concepts they have studied. This year, the Seattle Symphony provided schools with Link Up materials and professional development workshops and resources for teachers at a low cost of $75 per class. Schools serving low-income families receive the materials at a discounted rate. Additionally, Seattle Symphony teaching artists are providing teaching activities in 15 different five- or 10-week residency programs in local classrooms, serving over 1,500 students. Prior to this year s program, the Seattle Symphony served a total of over 46,000 students through Link Up. This year s curriculum, titled The Orchestra Rocks, explores rhythm, pulse and groove from orchestral repertoire, and engages students in creating their own composition inspired by "Mars" from Holst's The Planets. Students began the process by conceiving a name, color and
other characteristics of his/her personal planet, then created a short composition of rhythms and sounds, choosing different instruments of the orchestra to represent their planet. Classrooms were invited to submit their compositions to the Seattle Symphony and this year s winning composition is from Ms. D Arienzio s 4th grade class at Marvista Elementary School. Photo credit: Brandon Patoc LINK UP SCHOOL CONCERT PROGRAM Tuesday, March 6, 2018, at 10:30am Thursday, March 8, 2018, at 10:30am Wednesday, March 14, 2018, at 10:30am Link Up: The Orchestra Rocks Pablo Rus Broseta, conductor Katherine Strohmaier, host Seattle Symphony THOMAS CABANISS Come to Play EDVARD GRIEG In the Hall of the Mountain King from Peer Gynt GIUSEPPE VERDI Anvil Chorus IGOR STRAVINSKY Dance of the Adolescents from The Rite of Spring CARL ORFF O Fortuna TRADITIONAL In the Field Stood a Birch Tree Excerpt In the Field Stood a Birch Tree TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 4 MRS. D'ARIENZO'S 4TH GRADE CLASS /arr. Kaley Lane Eaton GUSTAV HOLST THOMAS CABANISS LEONARD BERNSTEIN Our Planet Song Mars, the Bringer of War from The Planets Thanks to the Orchestra Mambo from West Side Story Special thanks to Alaska Airlines, the Boeing Company, the Clowes Fund, Lagunitas Brewing Company, Hot Chocolate Fund, Richard and Francine Loeb, D.V. and Ida J. McEachern Charitable Trust, the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe, Music4Life, Peg and Rick Young Foundation, Seattle
Symphony Volunteers, the Sheri and Les Biller Family Foundation, Atsuhiko and Ina Goodwin Tateuchi Foundation, Weill Music Institute, and Wyman Youth Trust. The Seattle Symphony s Family, School & Community programs are supported by 4Culture, the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation, The Boeing Company, Chihuly Garden + Glass, Citi Community Capital, The Clowes Fund, Inc., the Elizabeth McGraw Foundation, KeyBank Foundation, the League of American Orchestras, Richard and Francine Loeb, Kjristine Lund, D.V. and Ida J. McEachern Charitable Trust, Music4Life, Music Works Northwest, the National Endowment for the Arts, Peach Foundation, the Peg and Rick Young Foundation, Russell Investments, Seattle Pacific University, the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture, The Sheri and Les Biller Family Foundation, Christine and Michel Suignard, Ten Grands Seattle, Tulalip Tribes Charitable Fund, the U.S. Bank Foundation, UW Autism Center, Weill Music Institute, Wells Fargo Foundation, the Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati Foundation and the Wyman Youth Trust. CARNEGIE HALL S WEILL MUSIC INSTITUTE Carnegie Hall s Weill Music Institute (WMI) creates visionary programs that embody Carnegie Hall s commitment to music education, playing a central role in fulfilling the Hall s mission of making great music accessible to as many people as possible. With unparalleled access to the world s greatest artists, WMI s programs are designed to inspire audiences of all ages, nurture tomorrow s musical talent, and harness the power of music to make a meaningful difference in people s lives. An integral part of Carnegie Hall s concert season, these programs facilitate creative expression, develop musical skills and capacities at all levels, and encourage participants to make lifelong personal connections to music. The Weill Music Institute generates new knowledge through original research and is committed to giving back to its community and the field, sharing an extensive range of online music education resources and program materials for free with teachers, orchestras, arts organizations, and music lovers worldwide. Approximately 600,000 people each year engage in WMI s programs through national and international partnerships, in New York City schools and community settings, and at Carnegie Hall. This includes 380,000 students and teachers worldwide who participate in WMI s Link Up music education program for students in grades 3 through 5, made possible through partnerships with over 90 orchestras in the US, Brazil, Canada, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, and Spain. SEATTLE SYMPHONY The Seattle Symphony is one of America's leading symphony orchestras and is internationally acclaimed for its innovative programming and extensive recording history. Under the leadership of Music Director Ludovic Morlot since September 2011, the Symphony is heard from
September through July by more than 500,000 people through live performances and radio broadcasts. It performs in one of the finest modern concert halls in the world the acoustically superb Benaroya Hall in downtown Seattle. Its extensive education and community engagement programs reach over 65,000 children and adults each year. The Seattle Symphony has a deep commitment to new music, commissioning many works by living composers each season. The orchestra has made nearly 150 recordings and has received three Grammy Awards, 23 Grammy nominations, two Emmy Awards and numerous other accolades. In 2014 the Symphony launched its in-house recording label, Seattle Symphony Media. ###