Education Resources
Art Inspires Art: Original Art and Music Lessons
Step-by-step art projects designed for pre-k through elementary aged children inspired by the music ASO plays. Auburn Symphony musicians talk about the music and the stories it tells. Teaching artists from Interurban Center for the Arts demonstrate art projects using simple materials available in most homes. Share photos of your projects with us on Instagram @auburnsymphonyO.
French Horn player, Danielle Lemieux discusses what kind of emotions music inspires in us and teaching artist, Michelle Edwards, demonstrates an art project inspired by the Yarn Paintings of the Huichol people of Mexico.
In this episode of Art Inspires Art, principal violist Betty Agent discusses the music of Adolphus Hailstork and teaching artist Monica Tolas demonstrates two variations of an art project inspired by the works of Alma Thomas.
In 2022, Auburn Symphony presented Hollywood Takes Flight, a concert featuring the music of Star Wars, Harry Potter, How to Train Your Dragon and more! Watch this video and create your own origami dragon’s eye to go with the music from How to Train Your Dragon.
In the final episode of Art Inspires Art: The Four Seasons, Concertmaster Emilie Choi shows us what’s happening in Antonio Vivaldi’s Summer - storms, birds, and flying hornets! Then Artist Monica Tolas demonstrates a simple art project that you can do at home.
In Antonio Vivaldi’s Spring concerto, we can hear the goatheard in his field. That inspired us to make a wet-on-wet watercolor of a goat. Join us for step-by-step instructions on how to make your own.
For winter, create a painting of an owl on a branch in snowfall using a surprise material.
The Autumn Project was inspired by Monet’s Haystacks. Create a painting of trees changing with the seasons using color to represent different times of year.
Coloring Pages
These original coloring pages depict Auburn Symphony Orchestra musicians. Click an image to download the full size page.
Watch and Learn
Because by Mo Willems & Amber Ren
In 2018, Hilary Purrington composed a short work for Because, a book by children's author Mo Willems with illustrations by Amber Ren. Because tells the story of how a young girl grows up to become a composer, and her first symphony "The Cold" is inspired by events that led her to fall in love with music. Listen to "The Cold" and watch a read aloud video of Because.
The Composer is Dead
Lemony Snicket's hilarious whodunnit tale which explores the mystery of the dead composer. A fun, interactive, and hilarious way to teach about the orchestra!
Meet the Entire Flute Family
Boston Symphony Orchestra piccolo player Cynthia Meyers demonstrates all the instruments in the flute family. What’s the difference between a piccolo, a flute, a recorder, and a fife? And where have you heard an alto flute before?
A Sensory Trip to the Guggenheim
Guggenheim's Audio Guide Brings The Art Museum To Listeners' 'Mind's Eye.' Take a trip to New York in your mind's eye. These detailed sensory descriptions are almost as good as a visiting the Guggenheim, almost.
Symphony Storytime
This is a fun and unique video series from the Oregon Symphony designed for pre-K through elementary aged children and their families to experience popular story books. Each episode is entertaining and educational, and includes a great children’s story narrated by a master storyteller, with accompaniment by an Oregon Symphony musician or guest artist, performing the book’s “soundtrack.” There are stories in English and in Spanish.
Fun and Games
Classics for Kids
Learn about some of world's greatest classical composers and listen to amazing music! This site also includes information about the history of music, games, and materials for caregivers and educators, and lots of multimedia content.
Cliburn Kids
Take a break from at-home school studies to have some music fun, as we explore rhythm, storytelling, dance, and listening games. Buddy Bray—Cliburn artistic advisor and co-author of the Cliburn in the Classroom signature in-school program—will lead kids on short (7- to 10-minute), entertaining, and educational journeys, twice a week. (Programs are geared towards elementary-aged children; links to at-home supplemental activities will be provided as available.) Cliburn in the Classroom programs written by Dr. John Feierabend and Buddy Bray.
Coloring Pages
These original coloring pages depict Auburn Symphony Orchestra musicians.
Incredibox
Incredibox is a music app that lets you create your own music with the help of a merry crew of beatboxers. Choose your musical style among 7 impressive atmospheres and start to lay down, record and share your mix.
Link Up from Carnegie Hall
The free activities on this page invite children to explore the components of the orchestra; play, sing, or dance along with videos and interactive sheet music; and even write their own song!
Make Your Own Instruments
Seattle Symphony has lots of At-Home Crafts which teach you how to make your own instruments. Choose from Viola, Trumpet, Harmonica, Clarinet, and more!
NYPhil KidZone
You are only a click away from fun with the Philharmonic! Go backstage and meet the musicians, learn about their instruments, explore famous composers and their music, and even create music of your own.
San Francisco Symphony Kids
This fun interactive site offers a variety of games and activities. Learn about instruments and music. Different games allow you to play, arrange, and listen to music.
Symphonies for Youth Activity Books
Explore the orchestra, engage with music, and learn about the different instruments in these printable home activity books from the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
The Wide World of Music: An interactive guide to 100 musical instruments
Explore the wide array of sounds with this interactive list of musical instruments! Kids can listen to a variety of stringed, brass, percussion, and wind instruments here before deciding which one they want to play.
Dive Deeper
5 Minutes that will make you love classical music
This series from the New York Times talks to people about their favorite 5 minutes of classical music in a variety of genres. Five minutes that are so memorable and enjoyable that anyone will fall in love.
Connections: Science & Music
What is sound, anyway? Thanks to science, we know sound happens when an object vibrates (moves back and forth quickly). The Kennedy Center shows us what science and music have in common.
Creative Start
Creative Start from ArtsWA features video tutorials and downloadable lesson plans designed for parents, families, caregivers, and educators of children ages 3 to 8. Have fun, find a new idea, relieve some stress, and make some art together! Designed by WA teaching artists, the videos feature dance, literary arts, music, theatre, and visual arts.
Four Families of the Orchestra
At twinkl.com you can learn about the four families of the orchestra: string, woodwind, brass, and percussion! What characteristics do these instruments share? How are they different?
Ideas for Incorporating the Music of African Americans during Black History Month and throughout the Year
From National Association for Music Education, this page has LOTS of resources.
Interurban Center for the Arts
Part of the Green River College Foundation, the ICA works with many local schools to provide affordable art education. Lessons have gone online for the 2020-21 school year. Some art lessons are available without a membership here.
K-12 Music Resource list
A list of sites that can be useful for teachers of band, chorus, orchestra and general music education.
Key To Change
Key to change empowers communities by working alongside students, teachers, parents, and guardians to build consensus, meet teacher needs, and create a holistic environment where students can flourish. Key to Change removes the barrier to entry for low-income students and students of color with an inclusive approach that helps build trust and connection. By offering excellent music instruction below the market rate, Key to Change extends the benefits of a classical music education to a new generation of young musicians.
Musical Glossary for Kids
Did you know that a cadenza is part of a concerto? “Crescendo” your learning with this glossary of musical terms. Hint: It’s a lot of Italian!
Music Resource Guide for Students
If you are a student who is looking to enroll in a music program or interested in a career as a musician, then this is the music resource guide for you. It covers a variety of resources that will help you to become a better musician and better understand the fundamentals of music theory.
The Planets Online
This is a fun way to learn about the planets, science, music, and much more - all while accompanied by Auburn Symphony Orchestra.
Teaching Kids Music
Are you ready to have fun learning about MUSIC? Here you’ll find cool pages with lots of information about exciting musical topics.
Stories Without Words
A musical adventure that highlights storytelling in the symphony. Sometimes composers tell stories through the music that they write. In "Stories without Words," we learn what techniques composers use to share these stories and how they adapt written words for a symphonic performance. Intended for students in grades 4-12. This educational concert and study guide is presented by the New World Symphony.
Teoria.com
This web site is dedicated to the study and practice of music theory. Developed by José Rodríguez Alvira as a complement for his courses at the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico, it received the 2006 MERLOT (Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching) Classic Award in music.
What Makes Music, Music?
Our Music Director, as the Associate Conductor of the North Carolina Symphony, was intimately involved with the creation of NCS’s annual Education Concert for 4th and 5th graders. In this streaming video you can watch Maestro Schulz as he narrates performances of the North Carolina Symphony. View the video and the supporting education materials at: https://www.ncsymphony.org/virtual/.
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