Hear ye, hear ye...greetings Lords and Ladies! This year's A²SO youth concert, Fairy Tales, will transport you on a mystical, magical voyage to discover great music through fairy tales. The concert will present excerpts of music from many different folk and fairy tales: La Gazza Ladra by 19th Century Italian composer Gioacchino Rossini, incidental music from A Midsummer Night's Dream by 19th Century German composer Felix Mendelssohn, Sleeping Beauty by 19th Century Russian composer Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Cinderella by 20th Century Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev, The Pied Piper of Hamelin by 20th/21st Century American composer John Corigliano, Beauty & the Beast by 20th/21st Century American film composer Alan Menken and The Firebird by 20th Century Russian composer Igor Stravinsky.
Through each of these excerpts, you'll learn how composers took popular fairy tales and wrote music reflecting their interpretation of the story. Composers used different instruments, styles and tools to compose works representing fairies, heroes, villains and the battle of good vs. evil. There are many elements of music that a composer can use to create these effects. Some of these include style, key signature, meter, dynamics, rhythm, and instrumentation. As you study each of the pieces on the Youth Concert program, you will learn more about these and other musical elements, and how composers use them to shape the piece. There are also projects and activities for you to complete to help you gain a better understanding of what the music is all about!
We invite you to participate in a few special projects to celebrate this year's concert theme of Fairy Tales. First, we invite you to dress up as your favorite fairy tale character when you come to the concert. Normally you would wear concert-going clothes when you attend a symphony concert, but this is a unique occasion. Second (and this is something you can do at home), we'd like to display your artwork! Draw or paint a picture from your favorite fairy tale and send it to:
Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra
Attn. Katie Taylor
527 E. Liberty Ste. 208B
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
We'll display as many as we can in the lobby during the youth and family concerts. (Please note: All artwork becomes the property of the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra.) We look forward to hearing from you!
This year marks the twelfth year of Daytime Youth Concerts performed by the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra. We're delighted that you'll be joining us for this special symphonic experience, performed live in the historic Michigan Theater! Here's the concert program:
(Click on each selection for detailed information on the piece and the composer. These sections require Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you do not already have it installed on your computer, or just want the latest version, you can get it here : 
WARNING! - some of the pdf files are quite large and can take a number of minutes to download, especially with a 56k phone modem. Please be patient.)
Rossini-"Overture" from La Gazza Ladra
Mendelssohn-"Scherzo" from A Midsummer Night's Dream
Tchaikovsky -"Waltz" from The Sleeping Beauty
Prokofiev -"Waltz" and "Midnight" from Cinderella
Corigliano -Pied Piper Fantasy, Excerpts
Menken -Beauty & the Beast
Plus, our own special "Young Person's Guide" to attending a concert.
and a section on General Musical Terms and Concepts.
We hope you enjoy preparing for the concert. We'll be enjoying preparing the music on our end, too. See you at the Symphony!
The A²SO has a Facebook page called "I Love My A²SO!" Join with a Facebook login.
©2002-2008
Ann Arbor Symphony
220 E Huron St., Suite 470
Ann Arbor, MI 48108
(734) 994-4801
