EMF Explorers Week 2: Tuesday

Another fun day at EMF Explorers...Today we learned about the Baroque and Classical periods in Western music history.  We listened to the story of Haydn's "Farewell" Symphony, listened, and responded to excerpts from each movement through color and drawing. 

Orchestra visit: the woodwind family. Campers got to see and hear  the flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, contra-bassoon, English Horn and piccolo. Back in the classroom students had the chance to touch and hear a flute up close.

Music: Haydn's "Farewell" Symphony

Activities: Singing and movement, playing drums, sticks, drawing in response to music

Musical Concepts: Instrument families, Baroque and Classical periods in Western music history, dynamics, and tempo

See you in the morning! 

EMF Explorers Week 2: Monday

We had a great first day with our 6-8 year old EMF Explorers! We began with our singing circle, focused listening, and movement activities. Campers got to hear the story of J.S. Bach and his Goldberg Variations, listen and respond to excerpts from each movement of the piece through color and drawing. Each day we will visit a family of instruments in the orchestra, and in today's rehearsal we were introduced to the string family. Campers got to see and hear the violin, viola, cello, and bass.

Music: Benjamin Britten’s “The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra”
J.S. Bach's Goldberg Variations

Activities: Singing and movement, playing drums

Musical Concepts Introduced: Instrument families, characteristics of various instruments in orchestra, and dynamics

See you in the morning! -Miss Susannah

EMF EXPLORERS: Thursday

Please remember that tomorrow we will meet at the regular time at The Music Academy of North Carolina.  Please note the directions in your parent letter, or see below if you are unfamiliar with the location.  Parents and families are invited to return early at 11:30 for a demonstration of some of the things we learned this week. See you tomorrow!

The Music Academy of North Carolina
1327 Beaman Place
Greensboro, NC 27408

2015 EMF EXPLORERS: Wednesday

Today we learned all about the brass family in the orchestra.  Campers got to hear the trumpet, tombone, horn, and tuba. In the classroom we talked about all the families, and campers had the opportunity to hear, touch, and see a flute up close.   We listened to recordings of some great works, and the children shared what the music made them imagine and envision.

Music: Sergei Prokofiev, "Peter and the Wolf"; J.S. Bach Goldberg Variations

Orchestra Visit: The Brass Family

Activities: Singing, movement, drawing in response to music, and playing sticks

Songs: Mouse, Mousie; Tree in the Woods; Aiken Drum; Listen for Bells

2015 EMF EXPLORERS Week 1: Tuesday

Today we learned all about the woodwinds and what makes an instrument belong to this family.  The students visited the orchestra and got to hear the flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, contra-bassoon, English Horn and piccolo. In the classroom we talked about the brass family, and campers had the opportunity to hear, touch, and see a horn up close.  We continued to learn about different dynamics and pitch levels, and what kind of instruments produce high and low sounds.  We listened to recordings of some great works, and the children shared what the music made them imagine and envision.

Music: Camille Saint Säens' "Carnival of the Animals"

Orchestra Visit: The Woodwind Family

Activities: Singing, movement, drawing in response to music, and playing sticks

Songs: Mouse, Mousie; Tree in the Woods; Aiken Drum

2015 EMF EXPLORERS Week 1: Monday

Our first week of Explorers is off to a great start!  Each morning this week we will visit EMF orchestras in their rehearsals to experience different instruments and their instrument families.  We will listen and respond to masterpiece works by great classical composers, and learn about and explore different musical concepts.

Music: Benjamin Britten’s “The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra”

Saint-Saëns Piano Concerto No. 2

Orchestra Visit: The String Family: violin, viola, cello, and double bass

Activities: Singing and movement, conducting with scarves, playing drums

EMF Explorers Week 2: Monday

We didn't waste any time this first morning of camp, beginning with our singing circle, focused listening, and movement activities! Campers got to hear the story of Haydn and his Farewell Symphony, listen and respond to excerpts from each movement of the symphony.  Each day we will visit a family of instruments in the orchestra, and in today's rehearsal we were introduced to the brass family.  Campers got to see and hear the trumpet, trombone, horn, and tuba.  We had a chance for some musical play outside and learned some new songs.  Back inside we practiced listening and imagining what story the music might be telling us, and later expressed those ideas through colors and drawing.

Listening: Farewell Symphony by Haydn and Till Eulenspiegels (Merry Pranks) by Strauss
(this is one of the pieces that will be performed on Saturday's EMF Family Concert)

Musical Concepts Introduced: Instrument families and dynamics

See you in the morning!

-Miss Susannah

EMF Explorers Week 1: Friday

Thanks for a great week!

EMF Explorers Week 1: Thursday

Another great morning with the EMF kids today!

We sang songs, moved to music, and had the opportunity to play percussion instruments.  Thanks to a break in the rain we were able to have a parade outside with singing and playing!  We visited the string section of the orchestra, and got to hear and learn more about the violin, viola, cello, double bass, and harp.  These visits are a consistent favorite activity for many of our campers!

Please remember that tomorrow we will meet at the regular time at The Music Academy of North Carolina.  Please note the directions in your parent letter, or see below if you are unfamiliar with the location.  Parents and families are invited to return early at 11:30 for a demonstration of some of the things we learned this week. See you tomorrow!

The Music Academy of North Carolina
1327 Beaman Place
Greensboro, NC 27408

EMF Explorers Week 1: Wednesday

Today we learned all about the percussion family!  We learned about the piano, timpani, bass and snare drums, xylophone, glockenspiel, marimba, tambourine, and more!  We played drums and rhythm sticks as well as tone bells during our singing activities.  We learned a two part song with a repeating "ostinato" pattern called "Dip Dip and Swing".  We read a great story having to do with the percussion family and practiced keeping the steady beat through a Spanish chant called "Bate, Bate".  We continued to work on and review tempos and dynamics.  We went on a "Bear Hunt" with our bodies and voices and learned a lot about how we can use our bodies and things in our environment to act as percussion instruments.  We finished our shaker art project, filling them with all kinds of cool sounding materials!  We had an awesome day!     

EMF Explorers Week 1: Tuesday

Today we learned all about the woodwind family and what makes an instrument belong to this family.  The students visited the orchestra and got to hear the flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, contra-bassoon, English Horn and piccolo.  I showed them a  flute and we learned about its different parts.  We continued to learn about different dynamic levels as well as tempo.  Dynamic and tempo instruction was accomplished through guided singing and movement activities.  Students began making their shakers, which we will finish tomorrow.  Today we focused on decorating them!  Students got to hear the "Aviary" movement from Camille Saint Säns' "Carnival of the Animals" and we talked about how the flutes sounded like birds.  The children shared what the music made them imagine and envision.  We also read a story about L.V. Beethoven and his Heroic Symphony.  We had a wonderful day!

Explorers Week 1: Monday

Our first week of Explorers is off to a great start!  Each morning this week we will visit EMF orchestras in their rehearsals to experience different instruments and their instrument families.  We will listen and respond to masterpiece works by great classical composers, and learn about and explore different musical concepts. 

Music: Benjamin Britten’s “The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra”

Orchestra Visit: The Brass Family: trumpet, horn, tuba, trombone, and bass trombone

Activities: Singing and movement, playing the water glasses

Concepts: Introduction to instrument families, large and small instrument sounds, dynamics (loud and soft sounds)

Highlights (according to our campers):

My favorite part of today was…

·         Singing like a tuba

·         Seeing the French horn

·         Going to the music place [orchestra rehearsal]

·         Snack time outside

EMF EXPLORERS 2014!

Looking forward to our first day of EMF Explorers tomorrow!

-Miss Susannah
(Susannah Steele)

EMF Explorers Session 2: Thursday

This morning campers got a special treat when a wind quintet came to visit us in our classroom!  They showed us the different kinds of reeds, played examples of the various sounds their instruments make, and then performed a short piece.  During this demonstration and throughout the morning campers demonstrated their knowledge of the four instrument families through songs and games.

We also had the opportunity to play recorders, drums, and rhythm sticks, and campers worked on finishing their cabasas.  We also learned a bit about the responsibilities of the conductor, and practiced conducting a pretend orchestra while listening to pieces from Saint-Saens' Carnival of the Animals.  It has been a busy but fun morning!

Tomorrow we will be meeting at The Music Academy of North Carolina.  If you have not been there before, the directions can be found in your parent information letter, as well as at the address below.

1327 Beaman Place
Greensboro, NC 27408

Please arrive at the regular 9 am time.  The Music Academy will be offering very special musical activities along with some hands-on experience of a few different instruments.  We also invite all parents and families to join us for our end-of-camp sing-along at 11:30 am where we will demonstrate some of the new things we learned this week.

EMF explorers Session 2: Wednesday

Today was a big day for our Explorers!

Campers continued their work learning about different instruments and families, songs, and musical games.  We reviewed all we learned yesterday about Johann Sebastian Bach, and heard a new story today about Joseph Haydn.  We listened to his "Farewell Symphony" (another book by Anna Harwell Celenza) and expressed the sound of the music through drawing and coloring.

In addition to all this, campers also visited the percussion section of the orchestra, began building their own cabasas with beads and water bottles, and worked with Miss Kristen on learning about how to play the recorder.  All in all it was a great morning. See you tomorrow!

-Miss Susannah

EMF explorers Session 2: Tuesday

Today we learned about some of the music of J. S. Bach. (We referred to him as "Mr. Bach", but we also practiced saying all three of his names: Johann Sebastian Bach.)  We read the story of Bach's Goldberg Variations by Anna Harwell Celenza, and then listened to some excerpts of the real piece.  Campers heard the slow, lyrical theme, the faster dance sections, canons that went round and round, and super-difficult passages where the fingers fly!

Later our EMF explorer kids visited the brass section of the orchestra. We heard demonstrations of trumpet, tenor trombone, bass trombone, French horn, and tuba.  Campers heard the different kinds of sounds the instruments can make, as well as diverse music ranging from Star Wars themes to Wagner operas.

After rehearsal time we sang songs and branched out into learning about ensemble playing. Each camper played a different instrument from the percussion family, and we practiced play a few different rhythms at the same time. They handled the challenge well!  We've had a great first few days, and we look forward to seeing everyone in the morning.

-Miss Susannah

EMF explorers Session 2: Monday

Our second week of EMFexplorers has gotten off to a great start.  Miss Mary, Miss Kristen, and I all appreciated the enthusiasm and energy of each of the campers this morning.  We sang songs, played rhythm sticks, drums, tambourine, triangle, woodblock, cowbell, and maracas, learned about the different families of the orchestra, and played a game to identify instruments.  Members of the strings section of the orchestra graciously shared their time and introduced us to the violin, viola, cello, and bass, and even played us an orchestral excerpt by Tchaikovsky!  We branched out into some other art forms by moving and drawing to different kinds of sounds, and tomorrow we will expand on that while learning about different style periods in music history.

We look forward to seeing you all in the morning,

-Miss Susannah

EMF explorers Session 1: Friday

Had a great morning at The Music Academy!  Campers each had a chance to learn and play the piano and violin, and each learned about the guitar and different musical styles.  We've had a great week, and we hope to see you next year!

-Miss Susannah

EMF explorers Session 1: Thursday

We had another great morning at EMF explorers.  The campers are really getting to know a lot about the different instrument families!  Today we visited the woodwinds, and got to see and hear the piccolo, flute, bass flute, clarinet, oboe, and bassoon.  We sang old songs and learned a few new ones, played our percussion instruments, and put on our very on EMF explorers camp parade playing rhythm sticks while walking on the sidewalk of Guilford's campus.

Tomorrow we will be meeting at The Music Academy of North Carolina.  If you have not been there before, the directions can be found in your parent information letter, as well as at the address below.

http://www.musicacademync.org/contact-2/location

Please arrive at the regular 9 am time.  We also invite all parents and families to join us for our end-of-camp sing-along where we will demonstrate some of the new things we learned this week.  

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EMFexplorers Session 1: Wednesday

Today was Strings Day at EMFexplorers!  This morning we visited the orchestra, and the conductor introduced us to the smallest of the strings family, the violin.  After that we heard the (slightly larger) viola.  Then the cello (we learned this was a nickname for it's full name "violoncello") and double bass.  We thought that was all, but then it turned out there was a harpist there to show us her instrument. The harp was very popular with the campers.

Outside of rehearsal campers were able to learn some new songs, decorate their panpipes, and play a game to identify different instruments from a recording of the music from "Peter and the Wolf" by Prokofiev.  (Parents: this piece is featured in the EMF children's concert at 2:30 this Saturday.)  We also began learning about the names and symbols for the loud and soft sounds in music, or dynamics. We'll continue learning about these tomorrow.

See you in the morning!