The overall mission of The Children’s Education Program is to help develop students’ creative potential and ensure that the performing arts are a fundamental part of their education. This season we are proud to present the following programs:
First Grade
Junie B. Jones
January 2012
Based on first grade experiences in the popular Junie B. book series by Barbara Park, published by Random House, this musical features Junie B, First Grader (At Last!); Junie B, Boss of Lunch; and Junie B, One-Man Band. These stories are tied together by a fourth book in the series, Top-Secret Personal Beeswax: A Journal by Junie B (and Me!), which features diary entries by Junie, and are designed to give children ideas for their own writings. Prior to attending the program, students will read collectively one of the Junie B series of books.
Connections: language arts, reading and writing
David Holt
March 2012
Folklorist David Holt and partner Josh Goforth will perform the old traditional ballads, fiddle tunes and stories which early settlers shared with each other in their new home in America. “The Cat Came Back,” “Black-eyed Susie” and “I Got a Bullfrog” are timeless songs that children love and will sing for years to come. Mr. Holt has won four Grammy Awards for his recordings, and his collection of songs and tales are now part of the permanent collection of the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. This performance will reinforce the joy of singing, folk instruments such as banjo, guitar, harmonica and spoons, as well as the art of storytelling.
Connections: language arts and singing
Second Grade
Peter and the Wolf
Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra and
Metropolitan Classical Ballet
January 2012
Peter and the Wolf is a story of an adventurous boy and the bravery he demonstrates in trapping a wily wolf. In this performance the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra and Metropolitan Classical Ballet masterfully assist in telling the classic tale which is narrated in English and Spanish. Prior to attending the program, students will read Peter and the Wolf and learn to identify instruments of the orchestra both aurally and visually.
Connections: language arts and reading, music and theater
Third Grade
The Nutcracker
Texas Ballet Theater
December 2011
Texas Ballet Theater’s production of this popular classic ballet is a delight. Students follow young Clara on a fantastic journey to a magical world where Christmas trees grow taller before their eyes, mice battle toy soldiers, and snowflakes dance. Students increase perception, understand historical and cultural heritage, develop new ways to evaluate artistic experiences, and look at dance as storytelling through this presentation. First Act only.
Connections: language arts and reading, music and theater
Fifth Grade
"Copland and the Common Man"
Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra
September 2011
This program illustrates the presidency of Abraham Lincoln, the Civil War and the expansion of the transcontinental railroad through music and art. The events in Aaron Copland’s music are reinforced by historic photographs projected above the stage, while a narrator relates the John Henry folktale and narrates The Lincoln Portrait. The combination of visual arts, music and related narrative provides an engaging, comprehensive program, offering students greater insight into the rich history of our country.
Connections: American historical and cultural heritage, evaluation of musical elements
Middle and High School
Ellis Island: the Dream of America
Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra and Guest Narrators
September 2011
This composition was written by contemporary composer Peter Boyer as an homage to the immigrants who have made the United States what it is today. The combination of archival photos of the period, music and related narrative by a group of costumed actors provides an engaging, comprehensive program, offering students greater insight into the rich history of our country.
Connections: American history, musical elements
The Crucible
Stage West
October 2011
This milestone play, which deals with the Salem Witch Trials in early colonial America and relates to forms of persecution throughout history, is performed onstage at Bass Performance Hall in abbreviated form. Director Jerry Russell and his small but talented cast bring a new understanding to this American classic by Arthur Miller, cutting away all but the most salient moments to make a riveting theatrical experience for students with varied levels of sophistication.
Connections: language arts and reading comprehension, American history
TCU Percussion Ensemble
October 2011
The Percussion Ensemble at Texas Christian University conducted by Dr. Brian West, will present a wide variety of pitched and un-pitched percussion instruments, in many compositions written specifically for them. They will demonstrate standard band and orchestra instruments, as well as steel pan drums in the concert. This performance is designed to introduce students of all ages to this large and interesting family of instruments.
Connections: musical elements
Chanticleer EVENING CONCERT
October 2011
Called “the world’s reigning male chorus,” by the New Yorker magazine, and named Ensemble of the Year by Musical America in 2008, Chanticleer will perform more than 100 concerts in 2011-12, the GRAMMY Award-winning ensemble’s 34th season. Praised by the San Francisco Chronicle for their “tonal luxuriance and crisply etched clarity,” Chanticleer will tour to 21 of the United States, appearing in a wide variety of venues including Walt Disney Concert Hall, and New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. On a 10 country tour in early 2012 the ensemble will return to Europe’s most renowned concert halls. Exciting events this season will include Chanticleer's performance on the soundtrack of the 10th anniversary release by Microsoft of its legendary video game HALO, the ensemble's first live film score performance, and a return visit to six California missions with more newly discovered music of the period.
Chanticleer – based in San Francisco – is known around the world as “an orchestra of voices” for the seamless blend of its twelve male voices ranging from countertenor to bass and its original interpretations of vocal literature, from Renaissance to jazz, and from gospel to venturesome new music.
Connections: musical elements
U.N.T. Wind Ensemble
November 2011
Internationally acknowledged as one of the premier ensembles of its kind, the North Texas Wind Symphony is selected from the most outstanding musicians attending the College of Music. The Wind Symphony has been highly acclaimed for “wonderful and artistically rendered performances which are elegant and polished,” and complimented for “terrific ensemble skills which embody a high degree of integrity and sensitivity.” They have recorded extensively for GIA and the Teaching Music through Performance series. They are conducted by Maestro Eugene Corporon. We are very fortunate to have this outstanding ensemble perform for our students.
For more information about programming...
please submit a Request
Form (Adobe Acrobat .PDF format) or contact Clint Dawley,
Assistant Director of Education, at cdawley@basshall.com.
To view study guides for these programs, click HERE.
