A Conductor Dan Story Composer Spotlight – George Morrison, by Dan Leavitt In Denver, Colorado, there is a park called George Morrison Park. It has a playground, tables for picnics, flowers, and lots of green grass. The park is named after one of Colorado’s greatest musicians. When I was growing up in Denver, my dad […]
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Dear Friends of Inside the Orchestra, As we near the end of the fiscal year (June 30), I wanted to provide a few updates. First of all, we are happy that parents and teachers continue to share their appreciation of our programs, for example: “I cannot emphasize enough what an invaluable experience this (performance) was
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Inside the Orchestra is getting ready for Tiny Tots: Ocean Adventure! We’ll be headed to Denver, Adams, and Jefferson Counties in April. At Tiny Tots, we literally put the audience “inside the orchestra!” Families and school groups sit on the floor, circled by a 30-piece orchestra. We require large spaces with no permanent seating. That
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Inside the Orchestra is starting the year off strong with big plans for Spring Tiny Tots: Ocean Adventure! In these programs, children and their families will sit encircled by our 30+piece orchestra and go on an immersive, interactive musical adventure! Let’s go behind the scenes with our Music Director and Arranger, Daniel Leavitt, aka Conductor
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This activity is quick, easy, and mess-free! Ages: 3-8 You’ll need 10 orange pipecleaners (6-10 inches long) and 10 pieces of green pipecleaner cut to about 2 inches long. Skills: fine motor skills, color sorting, scissor skills, counting, and of course singing! Your little one can assist you with selecting the correct colors, cutting the
Gustav Holst was a British composer who lived from 1874-1934. As a young man, Holst learned piano, violin, and trombone. However, he had poor eyesight, asthma, and neuritis, which made it difficult for him to perform, so he turned to composing. One of Holst’s most famous compositions is The Planets Suite, which he worked on
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In 1977, two identical spacecraft called Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 were launched carrying two identical phonograph records. The records contained music and sounds that represented cultures and life from across the globe, just in case the probes ever came across alien life! Voyager 1 is currently the farthest manmade object from earth. It hasn’t
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We are gearing up for our Tiny Tots: Outer Space concerts in October and November! It’s going to be out of this world! It has us thinking about music in space. Did you know that many astronauts love to make music? It’s true! Some of them have even taken instruments with them into space. Astronaut
We’re getting ready for Tiny Tots: Outer Space, so we have space on the brain! Let’s make a paper plate moon. This craft takes less than 5 minutes and costs less than $5! You’ll need: a paper plate, cotton balls (or pompoms), and washable paint in white and black. Optional: string and tape OR dark
Let’s make our own sheet music craft! This activity is great for kids aged 2-7. For this craft, we used buttons and pipe cleaners, but you could also use pompoms and craft sticks. You’ll also need liquid school glue and the printable music staff below. Glue your buttons in a row on the music staff.
Let’s make a DIY harp! For this project, you will need an empty tissue box (long boxes work best) and rubber bands (may be different widths and lengths). Optional: paper, crayons, markers, stickers to decorate your harp. If you don’t have an empty tissue box, we know a few toddlers who can help you empty
We have been loving all this rain! We enjoy splashing in puddles, drawing with wet chalk, and looking for earthworms. We also love to sing songs about rain. Here are some of our favorites. “I Hear Thunder” is sung to the tune of “Frère Jaques” (and also “Where is Thumbkin?”). When you sing the first
