By Maya Viswanathan and Annika Blackburn
Recently, all of the students in the JMS Strings Program were invited to come on a field trip to attend a concert at the Krannert Center. Every grade, sixth through eighth, were allowed to come for just a small fee of two dollars. It was an enjoyable, learning experience for everyone who went.
After being driven to the Krannert Center by a couple of wonderful, kind, bus drivers who work for the Unit 4 School District and being seated by an amazing volunteer usher, it was finally almost time to start the show. Imagine sitting in a big, cushioned chair, watching professional musicians setting up and getting ready to perform. The anticipation was intense, everyone was really eager to hear what the performers were going to play. No student knew which pieces were about to be performed, it was a surprise. The orchestra performed many beautiful songs for us that everyone in the audience loved. A man also read lovely poems that went along with each piece that was played. A student from the University Laboratory High School (Uni) even came to perform a piece called “The Flight of the Bumblebee” on her violin. The music was both beneficial and inspiring for every strings student who went.
There was a lot to learn from the concert. Going to concerts is important because listening to the music will help us be better musicians. “When you are a child, you learn how to speak by listening to your parents speak. When you listen to a concert, you hear a very rich tone and a mature sound and you can try to imitate the good quality music. You also have a goal in mind of what you are trying to do.” said Mr. Santana, the strings teacher. In strings class, we often listen to the recording of the piece we are trying to play. It helps us know what the piece is supposed to sound like so that we can mimic it when we play. At the concert, the orchestra had a very beautiful sound. I learned a lot from it. I was able to watch how they held their bows and listen to the music. Maybe, thanks to the concert, I will be able to play with a nicer sound next time I play.
One thing that I thought was really nice about the concert was that they taught us about the songs they played. The second piece they played was Carnival of the Animals by Saint Saens. Before they played the piece, the conductor talked about it. The piece is made up of many short pieces that each represent one animal. The conductor asked the orchestra to play a short part of five of the sections and then asked us to guess which animal it was. Through this we got to think about what the different styles of music represented.
Later, they pointed out other things about the different parts. The tortoise part was the same tune as Can Can by Jacques Offenbach, which is a well-known piece. However, it was played very slowly. The piece is traditionally played fast but because tortoises move slowly, it was played slowly. Also, they talked about how in the cuckoo part, there are two notes that repeat over and over that sound like a cuckoo clock. To make it fun for us, he suggested that we count the chimes. He also said that the beginning sounds like a train starting to take you around the carnival and show you all the animals. Because they told us about the piece, we got to think about why the composer wrote the music the way he did and we could also understand it better.
When they played Carnival of the Animals, they also read a poem by Jack Prelutsky that had a short poem for each of the animals. Before the orchestra played each section, the matching poem was read. The poems told us a little bit about each animal and because of them, we knew what to expect when we heard the next section of the piece. For example, after we heard about the graceful swan we were prepared for slow and lyrical music. When they taught us about the piece, there wasn’t enough time to talk about very single section of the piece. When they read the poems, it was like a quick introduction to each of the sections of the piece. Also, I really like poetry, so I enjoyed listening to the poems. It added another interesting element to the performance. The poetry was another thing to learn from and enjoy, in addition to the music.
A seventeen-year-old student from Uni High came to perform a beautiful piece called “Flight of the Bumblebee” on her violin. The song was written by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and was written for an opera called The Tale of Tsar Saltan. The piece is very short and it is played at an extremely fast pace. When it is played, it sounds just like the buzzing of the bumblebee. The Uni Student played this piece as a solo on stage while the other instruments provided background music. She did amazing.
Before she was to play, the conductor asked her some questions about herself. One of the questions was “How many years have you been playing the violin?”. She had been playing since she was four years old! No wonder, she performed the piece so beautifully without any mistakes. Everyone really enjoyed the student’s solo. It was very inspiring, how hard she worked and how much she had to practice to get to that point. The concert just wouldn’t have been as special without her performance.
In conclusion, the concert that we went to was fun, beneficial for our musical education, and very inspiring. Every aspect was simply terrific; the teaching, the learning, the song “Carnival of the Animals”, the poetry, and of course, getting to listen to “The Flight of the Bumblebee” being performed by a Uni Student. I believe that every student should get the opportunity to go to concerts like this one, not just students in Strings or Band. I think that music is important for everyone, whether they themselves are musicians or not. The concert was so much fun, I wish that everyone could enjoy it with me.
Overall, the field trip was amazing, Jefferson’s Strings Teacher, Mr. Santana made an excellent choice. He is one of the many people that I would like to thank for making the Strings Field Trip possible. I would also like to thank: the Unit 4 District Bus Drivers, the parent chaperones who accompanied us on the trip, the ushers who volunteered their time to assist us, all of the wonderful people who helped to coordinate the event, the man who read the lovely poetry, the conductor, the student who took time out of their day to perform an amazing solo for us, and of course, all of the lovely musicians who were able to play such lovely music. The Strings Field Trip was a fun, enriching experience, that strengthened everyone’s musical education.