DISCOVER

M E E T T H E O R C H E S T R A

CARNIVAL OF DANGEROUS CREATURES

Teaching and Learning Guide (Levels 7–12)

mso.com.au/education

MSO 2019 TEACHING AND LEARNING GUIDE – 2MEET THE ORCHESTRA: CARNIVAL OF DANGEROUS CREATURES

1. REPERTOIRE 3

2. ARTIST INFORMATION 4

3. A WORD FROM OUR ARTISTS 6

4. BEFORE THE REHEARSAL 8

5. SAMPLE LESSON PLANS LESSON PLAN 1: MSO MUSICIANS AND THEIR INSTRUMENTS 9

LESSON PLAN 2: INTRODUCING THE COMPOSERS! 10

LESSON PLAN 3: COMPOSITION CHALLENGE 11

LESSON PLAN 4: ANALYSING THEA ROSSEN’S SOUNDS OF THE REEF 13

LESSON PLAN 5: POST-CONCERT REFLECTION 15

6. APPENDICES 16

7. LEARN MORE 18

M E E T T H E O R C H E S T R A : C A R N I V A L O F D A N G E R O U S C R E A T U R E S

CONTENTS

Front page: Johannes Moser, cello

MSO 2019 TEACHING AND LEARNING GUIDE – 3MEET THE ORCHESTRA: CARNIVAL OF DANGEROUS CREATURES

S E C T I O N 1

REPERTOIRE

S E C T I O N 1

CONTENT

The repertoire featured in this concert is:

HINDSON Dangerous Creatures (excerpts: Snakepit, Spiders, Rhinoceros Tango, Army Ants, Big Black Bear, Scorpions, Humans)

ROSSEN Sounds of the Reef

SAINT-SAËNS The Carnival of the Animals (excerpts: Introduction and Royal March of the Lion, The Swan, Aviary, Fossils, Aquarium, Kangaroos)

Note: MSO reserves the right to tweak repertoire at any time prior to the commencement of the concert. In this case, MSO will contact ticket holders immediately to advise of the extent of the change.

Note: Hindson’s Dangerous Creatures work, composed in 2008, has never been recorded! While a transposition of the orchestral score can be viewed here courtesy of the Australian Music Centre, we very much look forward to introducing you to the work in-concert.

Likewise, Thea Rossen’s work, Sounds of the Reef, was developed during Rossen’s final year at the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM). MSO has made available a video recording of the work which can be accessed in Section 4 of this guide.

A topical contemporary work particularly appropriate for analysis tasks, Rossen addresses and assesses issues of climate change and humans’ impact on the natural environment. We’ve included a handy lesson plan in Section 5 of this guide that you can use and adapt to introduce this rich work to your students.

CONCEPT:

Carnival of Dangerous Creatures is a new concert, developed for premiere in 2019 by Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. Built upon a highly engaging narrative in which presenter, Thea Rossen journeys across the Australian landscape to encounter a variety of weird and wonderful creatures, the concert combines classical cornerstones from Saint-Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals with new, contemporary favourites from Matthew Hindson’s Dangerous Creatures and a special, new work by Rossen, Sounds of the Reef, which examines the impact of climate change on animals of all walks of life.

The concert content and resources incorporate four essential questions differentiated for each concert, as appropriate (primary/secondary):

1. What is an orchestra (sections/families)?

2. What can we do with an orchestra (represent characters/animals/tell a story/represent data)?

3. What does an orchestra do to us (create experiences/feelings/encourage us to use our imagination)

4. How does it do it? (Mechanics of orchestration/dynamics/instruments/texture etc.)

INTERACTIVE COMPONENT:

The concert includes a key opportunity for interactive engagement. That is:

Creating a simple piece of music based on an animal (Lesson Plan 3) – guided by our lesson plan suggestion, you have the opportunity to email students’ compositions in to MSO and the orchestra. The orchestra will play a selection of these in the concert!

Please note: Lesson Plan 3, which guides you through this interactive component, is designed to be led by teachers of all levels of experience in teaching music, generalist and specialist alike. In fact, no music teaching experience is necessary in order to undertake classroom preparation for this interactive element of the concert. See Lesson Plan 3 for your guiding instructions.

CURRICULUM LINKS:

The resources for this concert link directly to key elements of both the Victorian Curriculum (Levels 7–12 including key knowledge and skills drawn from Music Performance, Music Style and Composition and Music Investigation) as well as syllabus components of the International Baccalaureate (IB).

MSO 2019 TEACHING AND LEARNING GUIDE – 4MEET THE ORCHESTRA: CARNIVAL OF DANGEROUS CREATURES

Established in 1906, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO) is an arts leader and Australia’s oldest professional orchestra. Chief Conductor Sir Andrew Davis has been at the helm of the MSO since 2013. Engaging more than 4 million people each year, the MSO reaches diverse audiences through live performances, recordings, TV and radio broadcasts and live streaming. Its international audiences include China, where MSO has performed in 2012, 2016 and most recently in May 2018, Europe (2014) and Indonesia, where in 2017 it performed at the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Prambanan Temple.

The MSO performs a variety of concerts ranging from symphonic performances at its home, Hamer Hall at Arts Centre Melbourne, to its annual free concerts at Melbourne’s largest outdoor venue, the Sidney Myer Music Bowl. The MSO also delivers innovative and engaging programs and digital tools to audiences of all ages through its Education and Outreach initiatives.

MELBOURNE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Sir Andrew Davis gave his inaugural concerts as the MSO’s Chief Conductor in 2013, having made his debut with the Orchestra in 2009. The MSO also works with Associate Conductor Benjamin Northey and Assistant Conductor Tianyi Lu, as well as with such eminent recent guest conductors as Tan Dun, John Adams, Jakub Hrůša and Jukka-Pekka Saraste. It has also collaborated with non-classical musicians including Elton John, Nick Cave, and Flight Facilities.

The MSO reaches a wider audience through regular radio broadcasts, recordings and CD releases, including the February 2018 release of a collaboration with Chinese violin virtuoso Lu Siqing.

S E C T I O N 2

ARTIST INFORMATION

MSO 2019 TEACHING AND LEARNING GUIDE – 5MEET THE ORCHESTRA: CARNIVAL OF DANGEROUS CREATURES

S E C T I O N 2

ARTIST INFORMATION

BENJAMIN NORTHEY CONDUCTOR

Benjamin Northey is Chief Conductor of the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra and Associate Conductor of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

Benjamin appears regularly as guest conductor with all major Australian symphony orchestras, Opera Australia (Turandot, L’elisir d’amore, Don Giovanni, Così fan tutte, Carmen), New Zealand Opera (Sweeney Todd) and State Opera South Australia (La sonnambula, Les contes d’Hoffmann). His international appearances include concerts with London Philharmonic Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra and Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg.

With a progressive and diverse approach to repertoire, he has collaborated with a broad range of artists including Maxim Vengerov and Slava Grigoryan, as well as popular artists Tim Minchin and James Morrison.

An Honorary Fellow at the University of Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, his awards include the prestigious 2010 Melbourne Prize Outstanding Musician’s Award as well as multiple awards for his numerous recordings with ABC Classics.

THEA ROSSEN PRESENTER

Thea Rossen is a percussionist, creator and educator based in Melbourne. She is director of the Ad Lib Collective, an ensemble focused on concert curation, commissioning new Australian works and community engagement. Her work with the group has recently taken her to a residency at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in Canada where she developed a program of works dealing with the issues surrounding climate change.

As a soloist and chamber musician, Thea has performed with a range of international artists including So Percussion, Speak Percussion, Lisa Moore and Simone Young. Thea has performed with the Melbourne and West Australian Symphony Orchestras, Orchestra Victoria and presented works at the Perth and Melbourne International Arts Festivals, White Night Festival and Bendigo International Festival for Exploratory Music.

During her time at the Australian National Academy of Music with teacher Peter Neville, Thea was awarded prizes for all of her solo recitals including Most Outstanding Performance, Best Program and Paul and Brett Deal Prize for the Most Outstanding Performance of an Australian Work. Thea received her Bachelor of Music Degree with honours at the University of Western Australia studying with Dr Louise Devenish and Tim White.

MSO 2019 TEACHING AND LEARNING GUIDE – 6MEET THE ORCHESTRA: CARNIVAL OF DANGEROUS CREATURES

S E C T I O N 3

A WORD FROM OUR ARTISTS

SARAH MORSE CELLO, MSO

Q: The Swan is perhaps one of the most recognisable movements from Saint-Saens’ Carnival of the Animals. What are your memories of the piece?

A: My very first memory of this beautiful piece is hearing my mother practicing it! A few years after, it was my turn to learn it. It describes the beautiful movement that a swan has as it glides across the water; its elegant neck reaching down into the reeds and its majestic wings as it takes off in flight. Saint-Saëns has perfectly captures this noble creature in his music.

ROB COSSOM PERCUSSION, MSO

Q: Fossils offers a wonderful showcase of the percussion section. Tell us about the part, and what’s needed to play it effectively.

A: Fossils is a really lovely little xylophone solo –a beautifully evocative of a heap of dry bones clattering and dancing across the room. It is lots of fun to play but is not without danger! The notes on a xylophone are small targets and easily missed. This can be very embarrassing and leave me looking for a deep hole to hide in...

MATTHEW HINDSON COMPOSER, DANGEROUS CREATURES

Q: What inspired you to write Dangerous Creatures?

A: In Dangerous Creatures I portray some of the less friendly animals, in music. The orchestra is a collection of animals. The different instruments have their different characteristics, just like different animal families. The challenge is to make them all work together to create something that is original, creative and fun!

MSO 2019 TEACHING AND LEARNING GUIDE – 7MEET THE ORCHESTRA: CARNIVAL OF DANGEROUS CREATURES

S E C T I O N 3

A WORD FROM OUR ARTISTS

THEA ROSSEN, PRESENTER, CARNIVAL OF DANGEROUS CREATURES: COMPOSER, SOUNDS OF THE REEF

Q: What are you most looking forward to about this concert?

A: I particularly enjoy the way that the instruments in an orchestra have their own individual sounds that are clear and distinct (like the mellow timbre of the clarinet, or the soaring, high notes on a violin). When they are combined, they create a whole new sound that is full of different colours and textures, and that can be so evocative of different images, emotions and experiences.

The composers in this concert have used the different characters of the instruments to depict all sorts of animals. I love listening as the instrument sounds blend together to paint the pictures of snakes, bears, swans and more!

Q: What inspired you to write and present Sounds of the Reef?

A: In this piece I have translated data from a temperature graph on the Bureau of Meteorology’s website into a set of pitches which represent each year of ocean surface temperatures since 1900.

Throughout the piece, the set of pitches undergo a number of musical treatments including timbral and dynamic shifts, and harmonisation with sections of improvisation. The idea is that the audience will be able to hear the ocean’s rising temperature in the cello part, and notice that the fish song track (which was rich and full at the start) becomes distant and fades as the oceans get hotter.

The piece ends with a very high section of glissandi on the cello and musical saw. This represents what will happen in the future to the temperature of our oceans (and the effect of this on marine life) if we do not act now to change things.

I hope you enjoy this piece and its links with the other repertoire in this concert which is also inspired by the natural environment. You have the opportunity to further explore Sounds of the Reef using Lesson Plan 4 in this guide.

MSO 2019 TEACHING AND LEARNING GUIDE – 8MEET THE ORCHESTRA: CARNIVAL OF DANGEROUS CREATURES

S E C T I O N 4

BEFORE THE REHEARSAL

W A T C HA complete performance of Carnival of the Animals:

• Małgorzata Sapiecha (conductor), The Stanisław Moniuszko Music School in Wałbrzych, Poland

A performance of Thea Rossen’s work Sounds of the Reef:

• Thea Rossen (percussion, saw) and Nick Bochner (cello)

A recording of underwater fish sounds, used by Rossen in her work Sounds of the Reef (credit: Aaron Wyatt and Associate Professor Robert McCauley, Curtin University WA)

Interviews with Matthew Hindson

• Matthew Hindson on Composing by Musica Viva Australia

• On Composition (Matthew Hindson) by Halcyon

Presentations by Matthew Hindson

• About Music Lecture Series: Matthew Hindson on ‘Diverse Approaches of the Contemporary Composer’ by The University of Sydney

B E F O R E T H E C O N C E R T

Carnival of Dangerous Creatures

R E A DBiographical entries:

• Saint-Saëns: Facts, Pronunciation, Works and More by Classic FM

• Saint-Saëns: A Biography by All Music

• Matthew Hindson: Biography by Faber Music

• Professor Matthew Hindson: Biography by the University of Sydney

L I S T E NPodcasts:

• WCRI Classical Kids Hour – Carnival of the Animals

• Vermont Public Radio – A Camille Saint-Saens Timeline

• The Music Show, ABC Radio National – Matthew Hindson

Recordings of Carnival of the Animals available on Spotify:

• Württemberg Chamber Orchestra

• Antonio Pappano, Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia

MSO 2019 TEACHING AND LEARNING GUIDE – 9MEET THE ORCHESTRA: CARNIVAL OF DANGEROUS CREATURES

LESSON PLAN 1: MSO MUSICIANS AND THEIR INSTRUMENTS

S E C T I O N 5

SAMPLE LESSON PLANS

EXTENSION IDEAS• Check out this lesson’s curriculum links

in more depth: why not ask students to undertake an analysis task using our suite of on-demand MSO concerts, listed by repertoire – simply head to this page and check out what’s available under the ‘extend’ heading

LINKS TO CURRICULUM:VICTORIAN CURRICULUM 7–10:• Critical and Creative Thinking

(capability)

• Personal and Social (capability)

• Music (learning area)

o Respond and Interpret

KEY KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS (VCE MUSIC SUB JECTS)• Music Performance (Units 1/2 and 3/4)

o Musicianship skills

o Strategies used to optimise performance outcomes

o Effective instrumental practice routines

o Improving personal performance ability

• Music Style and Composition (Units 1/2 and 3/4)

o Use of appropriate music terminology and language

o Using musical examples to support discussion

o Forming and presenting a critical response

• Music Investigation (Units 3/4)

o Music terminology and language

o Technical and expressive mastery

o Performance practices and conventions

IB SYLLABUS COMPONENTS:• Music perception

• Solo performing

SUGGESTED FOR:Pre-concert engagement

LEARNING INTENTION:To get to know the musicians and instruments of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra

MATERIALS:❑ Interactive whiteboard (with visuals and sound)

❑ Student workbooks and access to pens, pencils etc., or

❑ Laptop/desktop computers

CONTENT1. Remind students they’ll soon be attending an MSO Mornings concert

featuring the stated repertoire

2. Introduce the learning intention

3. Choose one of our general video resources to watch with students – you may also like to split students into groups according to their instrument families, and have them watch the correlating video:

a. Tianyi’s Guide to the Orchestra

b. Interview with Prudence Davis, Flute

c. Interview with Shane Hooton, Trumpet

d. Interview with Brent Miller, Percussion

e. Interview with Freya Franzen, Violin

f. How do musicians prepare for a concert?*

*It is suggested that option ‘f’ will be a useful resource for older students

4. Ask students to write a personal reflection on the video using prompts such as:

a. What were your main observations?

b. What in this video did you already know?

c. What did you learn?

d. What new knowledge (gained from this video) could you incorporate into your personal practice routine?

e. If you met [MUSICIAN’S NAME] in person, what questions would you ask them? (Consider sending these questions on to the MSO Education team – education@mso.com.au)

5. While students prepare their reflections, you may like to play some music from the concert – use any of the options in Section 4 of this guide

6. Have a class discussion regarding students’ reflections focusing on linking students’ experiences with the experiences of MSO musicians as elicited in the video resources

MSO 2019 TEACHING AND LEARNING GUIDE – 10MEET THE ORCHESTRA: CARNIVAL OF DANGEROUS CREATURES

S E C T I O N 5

SAMPLE LESSON PLANS

LESSON PLAN 2: INTRODUCING THE COMPOSERS!

LINKS TO CURRICULUM:VICTORIAN CURRICULUM 7–10:• Critical and Creative Thinking

(capability)

• Personal and Social (capability)

• Music (learning area)

o Respond and Interpret

o Music Practices

KEY KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS (VCE MUSIC SUB JECTS)• Music Performance (Units 1/2 and 3/4)

o Approaches to critical listening and analysis of live and recorded performances

o The structure of the works and how the composer/arranger/performer has used elements of music and compositional devices

o Musicianship skills

• Music Style and Composition (Units 1/2 and 3/4)

o Use of appropriate music terminology and language

o Using musical examples to support discussion

o Forming and presenting a critical response

• Music Investigation (Units 3/4)

o Music terminology and language

o Technical and expressive mastery

o Performance practices and conventions

IB SYLLABUS COMPONENTS:• Music perception

• Solo performing

NOTE: This lesson can be adapted to focus on any or all of the composers featured in this program

SUGGESTED FOR:Pre-concert engagement (could be split across 2–3 lessons if you wish to increase the time students have to work on their posters)

LEARNING INTENTION:Understanding the role and work of a composer

MATERIALS:❑ Interactive whiteboard (with visuals and sound)

❑ A3 coloured paper, textas, markers etc. (poster creation tools)

❑ Student workbooks and access to pens, pencils etc., or

❑ Laptop/desktop computers

CONTENT1. Remind students they’ll soon be attending a performance

given by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra which will include pieces of music called:

• Dangerous Creatures by Matthew Hindson (excerpts: Snakepit, Spiders, Rhinoceros Tango, Army Ants, Big Black Bear, Scorpions, Humans)

• Sounds of the Reef by Thea Rossen

• The Carnival of the Animals by Camille Saint-Saëns (excerpts: Introduction and Royal March of the Lion, The Swan, Aviary, Fossils, Aquarium, Kangaroos)

2. Introduce the learning intention (be sure here to note whether or not you’ll focus on a single composer for this lesson, or all three composers)

3. Have a whole-class discussion

a. Back to basics: what does ‘composer’ actually mean?

b. What ‘classical’ composers do we know? (emphasise that contemporary songwriters are also composers, but that we’ll be focussing on composers of classical, orchestral repertoire for this concert)

4. Introduce the composers of the works to be featured in the MSO concert (see Section 1 of this guide) and list their full names on the whiteboard – have students read/repeat their names out loud as you go

5. Split students into three small groups and allocate each group one of the program’s three composers (Saint-Saëns, Rossen, Hindson): you can direct students to undertake their own research using any of the resources listed in Section 4 of this guide (useful for older students), or watch/engage with a selection as a whole class (useful for younger or less experienced students)

6. Students can create a group poster based on their research; while students prepare their posters, you may like to play the concert repertoire as background music – use any of the options in Section 4 of this guide, or use our Spotify playlist on the event page

7. Hold a group show-and-tell session and create a display wall in your classroom

Alternatively: For older students, you may like to ask them to prepare a PowerPoint, PowerPoint, Google Slides or Prezi presentation instead of a poster

VARIATION• A possible variation on this lesson is to plan and deliver

a unit of lessons with each focused on one of either the conductor, soloist, and composer for this program

• Alternatively, one lesson could be delivered in which each small group focusses on either the conductor, soloist or composer for their research

MSO 2019 TEACHING AND LEARNING GUIDE – 11MEET THE ORCHESTRA: CARNIVAL OF DANGEROUS CREATURES

S E C T I O N 5

SAMPLE LESSON PLANS

LESSON PLAN 3: COMPOSITION CHALLENGE

LINKS TO CURRICULUM:VICTORIAN CURRICULUM 7–10:• Critical and Creative Thinking

(capability)

• Personal and Social (capability)

• Music (learning area)

o Present and Perform

o Respond and Interpret

o Music Practices

KEY KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS (VCE MUSIC SUB JECTS)• Music Performance (Units 1/2 and 3/4)

o Approaches to critical listening and analysis of live and recorded performances

o The structure of the works and how the composer/arranger/performer has used elements of music and compositional devices

o Musicianship skills

• Music Style and Composition (Units 1/2 and 3/4)

o Use of appropriate music terminology and language

o Using musical examples to support discussion

o Forming and presenting a critical response

• Music Investigation (Units 3/4)

o Music terminology and language

o Technical and expressive mastery

o Performance practices and conventions

IB SYLLABUS COMPONENTS:• Creating

• Music perception

• Solo performing

Note: You may wish to split this lesson into two e.g. Lesson 1: listening exercises (detailed in Part A of the below lesson plan); Lesson 2: composition element (detailed in Part B of the below lesson plan)

SUGGESTED FOR:Pre-concert engagement (this lesson plan relates to the interactive component of this concert)

LEARNING INTENTION:To compose a piece of music for the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra

MATERIALS:❑ Interactive whiteboard (with visuals and sound)

❑ Student workbooks

❑ Grey lead and coloured pencils

❑ Copies of the handout in the Appendix 1 section of this guide (one copy per student)

❑ 1x A3 copy of the worksheet (or a digital copy projected on the smartboard) for you to model the activity

CONTENTPart A: Understanding a composer’s intention

1. Remind students they’ll soon be attending a performance given by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra which will include pieces of music called:

• Dangerous Creatures by Matthew Hindson (excerpts: Snakepit, Spiders, Rhinoceros Tango, Army Ants, Big Black Bear, Scorpions, Humans)

• Sounds of the Reef by Thea Rossen

• The Carnival of the Animals by Camille Saint-Saëns (excerpts: Introduction and Royal March of the Lion, The Swan, Aviary, Fossils, Aquarium, Kangaroos)

2. Introduce the learning intention

3. Have a whole-class discussion

a. What does it mean to ‘compose’ music?

b. A composer often chooses particular instruments create a composition for an orchestra: what are some of the instruments and instrument families that you know (hint: woodwind, brass, percussion, strings = instrument families in an orchestra)?

c. What are some other ways we can create music? (hint: using our bodies, our voices etc.)

NOTE: This lesson plan covers preparation for the interactive component of this concert experience. Not to be missed!

MSO 2019 TEACHING AND LEARNING GUIDE – 12MEET THE ORCHESTRA: CARNIVAL OF DANGEROUS CREATURES

LESSON PLAN 3: COMPOSITION CHALLENGE CONTINUED

4. Introduce the composers of the works to be featured in the MSO concert (see Section 1 of this guide) and list the full names of the composers on the whiteboard – have students read/repeat their names out loud as you go; say to students:

In this concert, the composers have chosen very specific instruments in order to describe the animals about which they’ve written the music. We’re going to listen to some examples of the music. What you’re going to do is fill out this worksheet and let me know three words you think describe the music (adjectives), what kind of animal you think the composer is describing, and why! Make sure you really link into the elements of music (if students are familiar with these) in your descriptions. Let’s do a practice together.

5. Choose one movement/excerpt from The Carnival of the Animals (use the recordings listed in Section 4 of this guide) and play it to the students – use your A3 copy of the handout to model the exercise, guiding students in contributing to your answers

6. Ask students to sit at their tables and ensure each student has their own copy of the handout; choose and play three further movements/excerpts from The Carnival of the Animals and ask students to complete their handouts

7. Bring students together for a brief show-and-tell session regarding their answers to the questions, and end by revealing to them the names of the animals about which the composer wrote each excerpt

Part B: Composing music for the MSO

8. Engage in a class composition exercise; say to students:

Well done; we now know a lot about how composers describe particular animals using music. The MSO have invited us to compose a piece of music for them! If ours gets chosen, it will be performed in the concert that we’re going to see.

9. Students have a multitude of options when it comes to creating this piece of music, which you can engage in as an individual task, or as a whole-class activity:

a. Ask students to choose their favourite animal and draw a picture of it

b. Then, ask students to select an instrument they’d like the MSO to use to illustrate that animal using music

c. Ask students to create a set of instructions for that instrument (e.g. ‘Play long, smooth notes that go up in pitch before a really loud ‘bang’ at the end!’), which will illustrate what students want the musician to do to emulate the ‘sound’ of that animal

i. For younger students or students not familiar with musical notation, you may like to use our template for this exercise, located in Section 6 of this guide (Appendix 2)

IMPORTANT:

10. Choose the most inventive, creative, and clearly expressed versions to submit to the MSO Composition Challenge for your chance to have your student’s/students’ compositions featured in the concert! Scan and email your entries through to education@mso.com.au

EXAMPLEThe following is an example of the type of Composition Challenge composition we might be looking for:

The student in this example has chosen a cello to illustrate a cat. They would know that a violin is good at bowing notes and plucking notes, and that it can go from very low in the range to very high. They might like to draw pictures as well.

Using the template in Appendix 2 of this resource, the entry would consist of:

1. The picture the student drew of the cat

2. The set of written instructions for the musicians, e.g.:

This is a picture of a cat. I would like a cello to play the cat! I want the cello to play long, low notes on to show the cat prowling around at night. Then, the notes get higher as the cat climbs a tree. Then, the notes go way down low as the cat hops out of the tree and goes home to bed.

EXTENSION IDEAS• For more advanced students familiar

with musical notation, encourage them to explore this exercise in more detail by learning about the range and particular techniques associated with each instrument – you may like to have them experiment with a combination of notation, graphic scores and written instructions, then send in to us the most coherent, clearly expressed entries

S E C T I O N 5

SAMPLE LESSON PLANS

ii. For older students or students familiar with musical notation, you may like to ask students to create a short (e.g. up to 8 bars in length), notated composition for their chosen instrument

Notes: Depending on the age group, you might like to choose one animal and instrument for the whole class and workshop lots of different ideas together on the board, or the students may be able to choose their own animal/instrument to represent in small group

MSO 2019 TEACHING AND LEARNING GUIDE – 13MEET THE ORCHESTRA: CARNIVAL OF DANGEROUS CREATURES

S E C T I O N 5

SAMPLE LESSON PLANS

LESSON PLAN 4: ANALYSING THEA ROSSEN’S SOUNDS OF THE REEF

LINKS TO CURRICULUM:VICTORIAN CURRICULUM 7–10:• Learning about Sustainability (cross-

curriculum priority)

• Critical and Creative Thinking (capability)

• Ethical (capability)

• Music (learning area)

o Respond and Interpret

o Music Practices

• Geography (learning area)

o Geographical concepts and skills

– Data and information

o Geographical knowledge

– Place and liveability

• Science (learning area)

o Science understanding

– Science as a human endeavour

– Earth and space sciences

– Biological sciences

KEY KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS (VCE MUSIC SUB JECTS)*• Music Performance (Units 1/2 and 3/4)

o Approaches to critical listening and analysis of live and recorded performances

o The structure of the works and how the composer/arranger/performer has used elements of music and compositional devices

o Musicianship skills

• Music Style and Composition (Units 1/2 and 3/4)

o Use of appropriate music terminology and language

o Using musical examples to support discussion

o Forming and presenting a critical response

• Music Investigation (Units 3/4)

o Music terminology and language

o Technical and expressive mastery

o Performance practices and conventions

*If desired, broader cross-curricular links may also be drawn with VCE History and Geography learning areas

IB SYLLABUS COMPONENTS:• Music perception

• Solo performing

• Creating

SUGGESTED FOR:Pre-concert engagement

LEARNING INTENTION:Learning about climate change using music

MATERIALS:❑ Interactive whiteboard (with visuals and sound)

❑ Student workbooks and access to pens, pencils etc., or

❑ Laptop/desktop computers

CONTENT1. Remind students that they’ll soon be attending a performance by

the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra; say:

At the concert, we’re going to hear repertoire that represents the natural environment, and contemporary issues we face in preserving it. This will include Saint-Saens’ The Carnival of the Animals, Dangerous Creatures by Australian composer Matthew Hindson, and Thea Rossen’s Sounds of the Reef. Thea is also the presenter of the concert, so two of the three pieces we’ll hear (the Hindson and the Rossen) are by composers who are still alive!

Thea’s piece is really interesting. Here’s what she says about it:

“In this piece I’ve translated data from a temperature graph on the Bureau of Meteorology’s website into a set of pitches; or, in other words, into a piece of music. The different pitches (or notes) represent each year of ocean surface temperatures since 1900. The piece is for cello, vibraphone, and saw!

The idea is that you will be able to hear the ocean’s rising temperature in the cello part (as the notes rise too), and notice that the fish song backing track (which was rich and full at the start) becomes distant and fades as the oceans get hotter.

At the very start of my piece you will hear something that sounds like white noise. It’s scratchy and strange, but it’s definitely meant to be there. This is a real sound, recorded in nature. It’s the sound that fish make underwater, of tiny shrimp rubbing their legs together and the pulsing and clicking of all the different fish species. Just like birds, fish have songs too, though they sound a little strange to our ears.

These tracks were recorded by scientists on an island off the Great Barrier Reef as an important research tool for tracking the health of the reef system. I was inspired by these tracks to write the remainder of the piece.”

2. Listen to the fish song track as a class, pre-empting it by asking students to consider how many different types of fish they think they can hear

For younger students: progress to Step 3

For older students: progress to Step 4

MSO 2019 TEACHING AND LEARNING GUIDE – 14MEET THE ORCHESTRA: CARNIVAL OF DANGEROUS CREATURES

LESSON PLAN 4: ANALYSING THEA ROSSEN’S SOUNDS OF THE REEF CONTINUED

S E C T I O N 5

SAMPLE LESSON PLANS

3. Ask students to get into small groups (you may like to give each group a fish/ocean-related name) and experiment with making their own fish song using recycled and junk items around the class room – present these at the end of the class

a. Alternatively, you could ask students to imagine the classroom is a reef teeming with fish and other marine animals – ask them to get into pairs and come up with a sound that makes their pair’s species distinct from the other species in the class (this can be a fun break break too!)

b. You could also try asking students to communicate their sounds across the room using call and response (just like birds do in the trees)

4. Now, listen to the Sounds of the Reef recording while following along on the graph that it is based on from the Bureau of Meteorology; ask students to look at other climate change related graphs and data on that website (there are many) and explore ways to represent it themselves using music; discuss how this type of work may positively contribute to the discussions surrounding climate change in our community

5. Have a class discussion: what are some ways that music like this (Sounds of the Reef) can help to raise an awareness of climate change’s impact on the ocean?

EXTENSION IDEAS• Why not engage your students in broader

discussions of climate change and the place of the arts to represent those ideas and messages to the wider public? Take a look at some Art+Climate=Change festival programming for inspiration

MSO 2019 TEACHING AND LEARNING GUIDE – 15MEET THE ORCHESTRA: CARNIVAL OF DANGEROUS CREATURES

S E C T I O N 5

SAMPLE LESSON PLANS

LESSON PLAN 4: POST-CONCERT REFLECTION

LINKS TO CURRICULUM:VICTORIAN CURRICULUM 7–10:• Learning about Sustainability (cross-

curriculum priority)

• Critical and Creative Thinking (capability)

• Ethical (capability)

• Music (learning area)

o Respond and Interpret

o Music Practices

• Geography (learning area)

o Geographical concepts and skills

– Data and information

o Geographical knowledge

– Place and liveability

• Science (learning area)

o Science understanding

– Science as a human endeavour

– Earth and space sciences

– Biological sciences

KEY KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS (VCE MUSIC SUB JECTS)*• Music Performance (Units 1/2 and 3/4)

o Approaches to critical listening and analysis of live and recorded performances

o The structure of the works and how the composer/arranger/performer has used elements of music and compositional devices

o Musicianship skills

• Music Style and Composition (Units 1/2 and 3/4)

o Use of appropriate music terminology and language

o Using musical examples to support discussion

o Forming and presenting a critical response

• Music Investigation (Units 3/4)

o Music terminology and language

o Technical and expressive mastery

o Performance practices and conventions

*If desired, broader cross-curricular links may also be drawn with VCE History and Geography learning areas

IB SYLLABUS COMPONENTS:• Music perception

• Solo performing

• Creating

SUGGESTED FOR:Post-concert engagement

LEARNING INTENTION:Reflecting on our experience at the MSO concert

MATERIALS:❑ Interactive whiteboard (with visuals and sound)

❑ Student workbooks and access to pens, pencils etc., or

❑ Laptop/desktop computers

CONTENT1. Pre-select some repertoire that was featured in the concert to play

while students write their responses to part three of this lesson (use any of the recordings listed in Section 4 of this resource, or others that you may prefer)

2. Remind students that they have recently attended the MSO concert Carnival of Dangerous Creatures

3. Students can sit individually at their tables to answer the following questions in their workbooks:

a. What is the most interesting thing you saw at the concert?

b. What did you learn by going to see the MSO play?

c. Think broadly: what did you learn about your instrument/instrument family that you can incorporate into your personal practice routine? (for instrumental students)

d. What more do you want to know about the MSO/orchestras/the composers/the music we heard?

4. Have a group reflection at the conclusion of the lesson

5. Collate the students’ remaining questions (from part 3c of this lesson plan) and consider sending them through to us at education@mso.com.au – we’ll do our best to get you some answers!

MSO 2019 TEACHING AND LEARNING GUIDE – 16MEET THE ORCHESTRA: CARNIVAL OF DANGEROUS CREATURES

S E C T I O N 6

APPENDIX 1LESSON PLAN 3: HANDOUT

COMPOSITION CHALLENGE WORKSHEET

EXCERPT ANSWER

1

Describe the music using three describing words (adjectives):

I think this music is about a:

(animal)

…because (refer to the elements of music e.g. rhythm, pitch, dynamics, music styles etc.):

2

Describe the music using three describing words (adjectives):

I think this music is about a:

(animal)

…because (refer to the elements of music e.g. rhythm, pitch, dynamics, music styles etc.):

3

Describe the music using three describing words (adjectives):

I think this music is about a:

(animal)

…because (refer to the elements of music e.g. rhythm, pitch, dynamics, music styles etc.):

My name is:

Listen to the music:

• Choose three describing words (adjectives) that describe the music

• Choose an animal that you think the music might be describing

• Give a reason: why do you think the music describes this animal?

MSO 2019 TEACHING AND LEARNING GUIDE – 17MEET THE ORCHESTRA: CARNIVAL OF DANGEROUS CREATURES

TEMPLATE: ANIMAL COMPOSITION INTERACTIVE CONCERT COMPONENT

(to complete as a class activity and send into MSO (education@mso.com.au) for your students’ chance at having their composition performed by MSO!)

My name is:

The animal I’ve drawn is a:

The orchestral instrument family (or individual instrument) I want to represent this animal is:

My instructions to the MSO musicians (how I want them to play their instrument) are:

My instructions to the MSO musicians:

S E C T I O N 6

APPENDIX 2

S E C T I O N 7

LEARN MORE

PARTNERS

MAJOR EDUCATION & COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT SUPPORTERS

Anonymous(2), Crown Resorts Foundation and Packer Family Foundation, The Collier Charitable Trust, Wendy Dimmick, The Marian and E.H. Flack Trust, Freemasons Foundation Victoria, Jennifer Gorog, Hilary Hall in memory of Wilma Collie, Hume City Council, Margaret Jackson AC, James and Rosemary Jacoby, The Scobie and Claire McKinnon Trust, Lesley McMullin Foundation, Mrs Margaret Ross AM and Dr Ian Ross, Robert Salzer Foundation, Telemetics Trust, Ullmer Family Foundation

SEASON 2019 IS HERE.Our 2019 Schools’ Season is on sale now! Check out all our offerings at mso.com.au/education.

We hope to see you again.

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