February 3, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Portland, Ore. … Resident Conductor Gregory Vajda and musicians of the Oregon Symphony’s brass and woodwind sections will continue collaborative residencies in Baker County on Feb. 7, 8, 21 and 22 as part of the Symphony’s two-year-long Community Music Partnership (CMP) with the Baker City 5-J School District, Baker Community Concert Association and Crossroads Art Center. Over 60 residency activities will take place throughout the Baker School District over the course of the four days. Other CMP residencies, concerts and collaborative projects will continue on a monthly basis in Baker County through May 2006. CMP funding is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Oregon Cultural Trust, the Cow Creek Umpqua Indian Foundation and MetLife/ASOL.
Vajda will travel to Baker City on Tuesday, Feb. 7 to work with several of Baker City’s high school bands and choirs over a two-day period. He will guest conduct the ensembles and work with the Baker City High School music faculty. Vajda will also visit four elementary schools in the district, where he will talk about growing up in Hungary, his life as a conductor and other related topics.
A Symphony brass quintet featuring Dave Bamonte, Warren Bartold, John Cox, Aaron LaVere and Alan Pierce will be in residence at several Baker City public schools on Feb. 21 and 22, as will a woodwind quintet featuring Martha Herby, Karen Wagner, Todd Kuhns, Bob Naglee and Mary Grant. The brass and woodwind quintets will participate in a new mentoring program between the high school and middle school band programs, known as “band buddies.” In addition, the brass quintet will visit High School physical education classes to talk about the physical nature of being a musician, including warming up, stretching and breathing.
“For my kids to be around these world class musicians is a great thing,” says Jeff Sizer, Band director at Baker High School and Baker Middle School. “The master classes are going to give the music students a big shot in the arm. This program increases awareness for parents and the community about the importance of music in our lives and what it can do for our students,” Sizer adds.
The Baker Middle School CMP leadership team has developed a music-focused curriculum for the advisory class, a first-period class similar to homeroom. Topics for the music-focused advisory class include concert etiquette, symphony vocabulary, active listening lessons and other activities taken from the Symphony Teacher’s Guides.
Baker City High School’s Treble Choir will be participating in the Prelude Series in Portland on February 18. While in Portland, they will take a backstage tour prior to the concert and have a chance to meet with Music Director Carlos Kalmar, who will conduct the orchestra when it travels in its entirety to Baker City in May. The Treble Choir will be one of a number of local ensembles participating in the Symphony’s community concert in Baker City on May 6.
“The CMP program provides a wonderful opportunity for our kids to have an intimate, personal experience with all the musical instruments in the orchestra. It’s obvious how dedicated the musicians are to the children; the interaction is exhilarating to watch,” says Kathleen Chaves, a local business leader, member of the steering committee and parent of a South Baker Elementary student.
The CMP is the most intensive education and community engagement initiative undertaken by the Symphony. It pairs students, educators and community members with the Symphony’s musicians and staff to strengthen existing programs while integrating new arts programming into the curriculum. For more information about the Symphony’s Community Music Partnership, visit the Symphony’s website at www.orsymphony.org.
