Vancouver Symphony Brings Symphonic Music To Mainland

After launching the pilot program to great success last year, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra's new elementary in-school music education program, VSO Connects Elementary, is now fully underway in schools throughout the Lower Mainland this spring.

VSO Connects Elementary brings symphonic music to Elementary School students by providing creative opportunities to interact with and personally learn from VSO musicians and music students from some of the leading post-secondary music institutions in British Columbia. The program was piloted last year in six schools throughout the Lower Mainland, as identified by each of the six school districts. Feedback was extremely positive: "It was my hope that the entire school community would find that musicians and conductors are 'real people' and that Symphonic music is for everyone. I am very pleased with the level of success achieved in this area" says Sandra Meister, Principal of Porter Street Elementary in Coquitlam.

Importantly, parents are enthusiastic about VSO Connects, says Surinder Deo of Tecumseh Elementary, and recognize the value of music and music appreciation programs add to the regular curriculum of study: "The parents were very excited about the program and wanted it in all the classrooms. I think the program enhanced the trust that parents have in school and special programs."

The goal of the VSO Connects Elementary program is to create an environment where students, trustees, district and school administrators, teachers and parents may understand the importance and value of promoting the integration of Symphonic music into appropriate areas of the educational curriculum. After implementation of VSO Connects last year, Burnaby's former Kitchener Elementary Principal, Al Post reports "We are showing how the fine arts can be successfully integrated into the regular curriculum in a way that supports/enhances student achievement across multiple subject areas."

VSO Connects Elementary - the Program

VSO Connects Elementary consists of nine classroom modules which highlight specific symphonic works, composers and instruments, and is tailored to suit different grade levels. Below are the modules with a brief description:

ABC's of Instruments - the exploration of orchestral instruments with VSO musicians and Post Secondary Music Students

* Clinics: Practice, Perfect, Perform - VSO musicians work with band students to improve their playing

* Composer's Tool Kit and Composer in Residence - the exploration of composing music using a VSO recording as inspiration

* Composer's Trunk - the exploration of items in a trunk that represent the life and music of a selected composer

* Listen Up! - the study of music and composers of a Symphony Sunday concert students will attend

* Meet the Maestro - a presentation on music advocacy given by Maestro Tovey or Hsieh to the school assembly

* A Morning at the "Office with the VSO - the exploration of the work involved in preparing for a concert.

* Music in Motion - the exploration of expressing music through movement

* Music Tells a Story - the exploration of composing music to accompany a story students are studying.

Each school selects four modules, from the list of nine, which will best enhance their school's existing music program. With the four modules they have chosen, the school participates in the requisite module "Meet the Maestro". Implementation begins in January and is completed by the beginning of June.

The VSO is pleased to have the generous support of TELUS as Premiere Education Partner, providing leadership in the community through aiding and assisting all aspects of the VSO's education programs. We gratefully acknowledge RBC Foundation for their generous support of VSO Connects Elementary. -- www.vancouversymphony.ca