General Resources

AN UPDATE ON THE 2020-21 SEASON

Your health, safety, and well-being—and that of our musicians, staff, and community—is our top priority. We are committed to providing you with a safe and welcoming environment to experience thrilling musical moments. And we promise to be your trusted partner as we navigate the future together.

When the pandemic began, we made the necessary—but difficult—decision to cancel the remainder of our 2019.20 season. Our hope was that by taking that essential step, enough time would pass to allow the community and country to weather this crisis with us all staying as healthy and safe as possible. When we cancelled the remainder of the 2019.20 season, we intended to return to performance in October 2020.

As you may have heard through the media, the basement of the Bradley Symphony Center sustained significant flood damage following an intense rainstorm and steam tunnel failure on May 18. Over the summer, C.D. Smith and partners have been repairing the damage while still working to complete the facility. Unfortunately, this caused a delay and pushed back our occupancy date until January 2021. In addition, the world still struggles to react to the uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and it has become clear that large-scale gatherings will likely not be a possibility when the building opens in January.

We appreciate the continued support and patience of our patrons and community during this time and we remain committed to keeping you informed and serving you with flexibility and  empathy as we navigate these changes together. You can contact us any time at info@mso.org.

Fall Resource Activity Ideas

Dia de los Muertos

Activity Idea

  • Introduce students to the Mexican Folk Music, Mariachi. Discuss the types of instruments used in the groups, the kind of music they play, and the origin of the genre. Play a portion of the following Native American music example to illustrate what the music was like prior to Spanish immigration into Mexico. Then play the following Mariachi music example to illustrate how the music evolved to what we hear and know today. Use a chart to highlight the differences between the two. *For the full lesson plan, check out page 16 of this Dia de los Muertos Education Guide here.

Crafts

  • Dia de los Muertos Lanterns
    • Materials needed
      • White plastic cups
      • LED tea lights
      • Sharpie markers
  • Sugar Skull Dolls (Full instructions can be found here)
    • Materials needed
      • Empty cereal packet or card stock
      • 40mm polystyrene ball
      • Patterned paper
      • Double sided tape
      • White glue
      • Permanent marker pens
      • Non bleed tissue paper
      • Cotton pipe cleaners
      • Felt scraps

Resources

Google Arts & Culture Page on Dia de los Muertos

Dia de los Muertos animated short

Eliot, Hannah. Día De Los Muertos. Illustrated by Jorge R. Gutierrez, Little Simon, an Imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division, 2018.

Smit, J.D.. The Best Mariachi in the World. Illustrated by Dani Jones, Raven Tree Press; Bilingual Edition, 2008.

Fall Harvest

Activity Idea

  • Antonio Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons were inspired by both poetry and art, creating a marriage of the three arts after the composition of his music. Read the sonnet that inspired the “Autumn” movement to your students. Play the movement asking students to listen for the elements described in the poem and be ready to share their observations. Have construction paper and crayons, colored pencils, and markers available for students. Play the movement again and have students create a piece of art inspired by Vivaldi’s “Autumn” movement from The Four Seasons.

Crafts

  • Corn Shakers
    • Materials needed
      • Screw-top bottle or jar
      • Popping corn
      • Hot glue gun (optional)
  • Egg Carton Turkeys (full instructions can be found here)
    • Materials needed
      • Washable paint
      • Construction paper
      • Scissors
      • Glue sticks
      • Egg cartons
      • Googly eyes
      • pencil

Resources

Harvest Festivals from around the World

A Thanksgiving Lesson Plan Booklet from a Native American Perspective

Buccino, John. Grateful: A Song of Giving Thanks. Illustrated by Anna-Liisa Hakkarainen, HarperCollins, 2003.

Pfeffer, Wendy. We Gather Together: Celebrating the Harvest Season. Illustrated by Linda Bleck, Puffin Books, 2014.

Halloween

Activity Idea

  • Have students listen to Modest Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain and create an original storyline that reflects the music. Use the ‘5 W’s of Scary Story Writing’ to gather the who, what, when, where, and why of their story. Have students depict their scary story using a cartoon strip format. *For the full lesson plan, check out page 26 of the Trills and Chills II Teacher Resource Guide here.

Crafts

  • Leaf ghosts
    • Materials needed
      • Fallen leaves
      • White paint
      • Sharpie marker
  • Pumpkin Tambourine Shaker
    • Materials needed
      • Paper plates (2 plates makes 1 tambourine)
      • Orange paint
      • Paintbrushes
      • Brown pipe cleaner (stem)
      • Green construction paper (leaf)
      • Shaking items (large beans, buttons, bells)
      • Tape
      • Stapler or Glue
      • Glitter (optional)

Resources

12 Favorite Halloween Classical Pieces

History of Halloween animated clip

Colandro, Lucille. There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Bat! Illustrated by Jared Lee, Scholastic, 2005.

Gunnufson, Charlotte. Halloween Hustle. Illustrated by Kevin J. Atteberry, Two Lions, 2013.

ARCHIVE TEACHER RESOURCE GUIDES

MSO Teacher Resource Guides are full of background information about the music and composers, as well as suggested lesson plans and student activities. Below is a selection of Teacher Resource Guides from previous seasons. Follow the MSO Education Spotify Channel and listen to these past Concerts for Schools programs.

Teen (6th - 12th grades)

Youth (3rd - 8th grades)

Music for Me! (K4 – 2nd grades)

FOR KIDS

Watch and listen to professional musicians. The Philharmonia’s expert players guide you through the intricacies of the instruments they play.
►https://philharmonia.co.uk/resources/instruments/

DSO Kids includes videos, information on instruments and composers, and activities.
►https://www.mydso.com/dso-kids

SFS Kids provides fun and games with music! An interactive website where children can discover, listen, play, perform, conduct, and compose. (Need to allow Flash Player in order to run).
►http://www.sfskids.org/

PBS Kids has a variety of music games for children in Pre-K through 2nd grade.
►https://pbskids.org/games/music/

Go Classical for Kids! An interactive website with a variety of games and activities.
►http://classicalkusc.org/kids/index.htm

World Music with DARIA. The instrument section allows children to color, hear and find pdf instructions on how to make world music instruments!
►http://www.dariamusic.com/

U BETTER Sing! A fun interactive singing game app in the Apple Store.

FOR TEACHERS

The Cleveland Orchestra Music Explorers. A video series designed for students ages 3-6 and their families.
►https://www.clevelandorchestra.com/musicexplorers

The Cleveland Orchestra presents teacher videos with ready-to-go lesson plans and activities.
►https://www.clevelandorchestra.com/teachervideos
►https://www.clevelandorchestra.com/lessonlibrary (Lesson Library)

Carnegie Hall’s Music Educators Toolbox currently features grade-specific music education resources.
►https://www.carnegiehall.org/Education/Educators/Music-Educators-Toolbox/Resources

Carnegie Hall’s Musical Explorers connects students in grades K-2 to rich and diverse musical communities as they build fundamental music skills.
►https://www.carnegiehall.org/Education/Educators/Musical-Explorers

DSO Kids includes information on instruments and composers, activities, and teacher resources and lesson plans.
►https://www.mydso.com/dso-kids

PBS Learning Media provides a wealth of music-ed films, interactive lessons, and more.
►https://wisconsin.pbslearningmedia.org/subjects/the-arts/music/#.Xnjlv-pKiUk

The Kennedy Center has a vast collection of theatre, music, and dance resources.
►https://www.kennedy-center.org/education/resources-for-educators/classroom-resources/

VIRTUAL AND ONLINE EXPERIENCES

Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra: Musical Journeys, Broadcast Series, and Backstage Conversations with Composers
►https://www.mso.org/journeys
►https://www.mso.org/about/music/listen/
►https://www.mso.org/backstage/conversations-with-composers-augusta-read-thomas/

Milwaukee Art Museum 360 Degrees
►https://www.visitmilwaukee.org/meetings-and-conventions/meeting-and-event-venues/search-meeting-venues/milwaukee-art-museum-360-degrees/

Milwaukee Public Library
►https://www.mpl.org/digital/downloads.php

First Stage at Home
►https://www.firststage.org/fsathome?utm_source=wordfly&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Enews-04.01.20&utm_content=version_A

 Milwaukee PBS
►https://www.milwaukeepbs.org/Learn/onlineresources/

Milwaukee County Historical Society presents “Moment at the Museum” series
►https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCa4zebVnG8mRAAlEQUxYs6w

Arts@Large virtual community art events
►https://www.artsatlargeinc.org/community-center 

Betty Brinn Children’s Museum Play in the Cloud
►https://bbcmkids.glomado.com/

Milwaukee Public Museum Community of Curiosity
►http://www.mpm.edu/programs/community-curiosity