Elizabeth G. Schneider Discovery Concerts
Music Ambassadors Program
Open Rehearsals
Symphony at School (S@S)

Elizabeth G. Schneider Discovery Concerts

Reservation form:

Rhythm & Blues: Exploring connections between music & art
October 25, 2012 & March 21, 2013
NEW TIME! 9:45 a.m. & 11:30 a.m.
Carpenter Theatre

The Elizabeth G. Schneider Discovery Concerts, held during the school day, engage young minds through exciting full orchestra performances. These morning performances by the Richmond Symphony last approximately 50 minutes and correlate with the Virginia Standards of Learning. Participating schools receive student listening guides, a teacher guide and a study CD in advance of the performance. The focus of the 2012-13 Discovery Concerts will be imagery and music; inspiration for this program comes from the rich visual arts community in Richmond. The concert experience will give students the opportunity to explore how composers and musicians use sound to create images in the minds of listeners and how music inspires visual artists, too. Students will learn new ways to listen to and think about music.

Both elementary and secondary students are invited to Discovery Concerts; age appropriate performance guides help students and teachers get the most out of the concert experience. The concert at 11:30 a.m. on March 21 will be geared toward middle and high school students. This concert will feature the same great music and a more sophisticated presentation, though students of any age are welcome at all concerts. Concerts serve city, county, private and home-schooled students. Tickets are $5 (general admission); $4 for Title 1 schools.

Musical Ambassadors Program (MAP)

Reservation form

Five chamber ensembles of the Richmond Symphony perform over 100 concerts annually for approximately 30,000 school children in Chesterfield, Hanover, Henrico, Powhatan, New Kent and Richmond Public Schools as well as private and home schools. Performances for students of all ages are upbeat and informal. Programs are age-appropriate, last approximately 30 - 45 minutes, and relate to the theme of the Elizabeth G. Schneider Discovery Education Concert. Elementary school programs are most effective when presented to audiences of 300 students or less; same day, back-to-back ensemble performances at one location are available. MAP performances are offered to Chesterfield, Hanover, Henrico, and Richmond Public Schools at no charge and are available to other districts, private and home school groups at affordable rates.

Richmond Symphony Strings (RSS) + 1 percussionist

Instrumentation: Violin (10), viola (3), cello (2), bass (2) plus percussion

Woodwind Quartet (WW4)

Instrumentation: Flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon

Woodwind Quintet (WW5)

Instrumentation: Flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, French horn

Brass Quintet (BQ) + 1 percussionist

Instrumentation: Trumpet (2); French horn, trombone, tuba plus percussion

String Quintet (SQ)

Instrumentation: Violin (2), viola, cello, bass

Open Rehearsals for High School and College Students

Reservation form

This is your chance to see the Richmond Symphony at work in rehearsal in the Carpenter Theatre. Open Rehearsals give high school and college students and their teachers the opportunity to learn from Richmond Symphony musicians, guest artists and conductors. Students are invited to observe a complete (2 ½ hour) rehearsal; there will be a fifteen minute break approximately halfway through. Following the rehearsal, the conductor, guest artists and/or select members of the RSO may take questions from students.

Open Rehearsals are free of charge, but seating is limited. Reservations must be made in advance through the RSO Education Department. Attending students are expected to treat the open rehearsal as a learning event, listen to the symphony rehearsal actively and attentively; participating schools are encouraged to only bring students who are motivated and interested plus enough chaperones to ensure a positive experience. Reservations should be made no later than two weeks before rehearsal date. Please indicate a first and second choice when making a reservation.

Please note that rehearsal orders for each date are determined by the conductor and subject to last-minute changes; the rehearsal you will be attending may not include all of the repertoire and/or soloists listed. For a list of available open rehearsal reservation dates and programs, please see page five.

MAHLER & TCHAIKOVSKY
Thursday, September 20, 7:30 - 10 p.m.
Steven Smith, conductor/ Norman Krieger, piano/ Richmond Symphony Chorus

BARTÓK PIANO CONCERTO
Thursday, November 15, 7:30 - 10 p.m.
Mischa Santora, guest conductor / Orion Weiss, piano

SCHEHERAZADE
Friday, January 25, 3:30 - 6 p.m.
Steven Smith, conductor / Marina Piccinini, flute

MOZART'S REQUIEM
Thursday, February 14, 7:30 - 10 p.m.
Erin R. Freeman, conductor / Joseph Conyers, double bass / Richmond Symphony Chorus

Symphony@School provides intensive, in-school residencies for middle and high school students. Students' musical skills will be challenged in workshops with RSO musicians, and they will be inspired to develop a deeper relationship with orchestral music.

The Symphony@School program began in the fall of 2008, serving students in two Richmond middle schools. Now, in the program's fifth year, RSO is offering this program to all Chesterfi eld, Hanover, Henrico and Richmond middle or high school orchestra programs. While there are shared responsibilities for each S@S residency, this program is offered to schools at no cost.

Interested orchestra teachers are invited to apply for a Symphony@School residency at your school during the 2012-13 school year. For more information, or if you are interested in bringing the musicians of the Richmond Symphony to your school, please contact Aimee Halbruner at ahalbruner@richmondsymphony.com