December 6, 2002
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Portland, Ore. … Volunteers from around the community with a love for music and children are being recruited and trained by the Oregon Symphony Education and Community Programs Department to make classroom visits which will prepare sixth through eighth graders for upcoming Symphony Youth Concert experiences. A free docent training session is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 11, 2003 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, at which docents will learn about “The Thick and Thin of It,” the second Youth Concert of the season. During the training session, Symphony staff will walk volunteers through an overview of the concert program and help prepare classroom presentations. This is the second training offered by the Education and Community Programs Department this year, as part of their continuing effort to increase the number of school visits by enlisting volunteers from outside the Symphony organization.
The volunteers, called “docents,” visit area middle school classrooms to prepare students to attend an Oregon Symphony Youth Concert. They talk about the instruments of the orchestra and the music that students will hear during the concert. Using a variety of visual and aural teaching aids, docents lead students through a listening lesson of musical excerpts that will be performed on the upcoming concert. CD’s with musical excerpts and materials are provided for use in the classroom free of charge.
“Oregon Symphony docents prepare our youngest audience members for their concert experience by inspiring a love and understanding of music,” said Director of Education and Community Programs Michael Kosmala.
“The Thick and Thin of It” teaches kids in sixth through eighth grades about the concept of musical texture through works of Mozart, Mendelssohn, Dvorák, Bizet, and Bartók, among others. Mei-Ann Chen, conductor of the Portland Youth Philharmonic, leads the Oregon Symphony in these two concerts, scheduled for Feb. 18 at 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall.
People interested in becoming an Oregon Symphony docent should call the Oregon Symphony Education and Community Programs Department at 503-228-4294 for more information.