NEH-FUNDED EDUCATION PROJECT “DVOŘÁK AND AMERICA” PROVIDES CONTEXT BEHIND MUSIC TO GIVE STUDENTS DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF COMPOSER AND HIS “NEW WORLD SYMPHONY”
Humanities and music link through engagement activities in
preparation for concert on March 4, featuring PSYO, opera singer/actor
Terry Cook, narrator Alan Chapman, with visuals by Peter Bogdanoff
Orange County, Calif.—Feb 15, 2012—Thanks to a generous (and rare) grant from the National Endowment of Humanities (NEH), Pacific Symphony is about to dive into an exciting new education initiative—“Dvořák and America”—led by Music Director Carl St.Clair and developed by New York-based author/scholar and Pacific Symphony artistic advisor, Joseph Horowitz.
The project links symphonic performance with humanities content to provide in-depth exploration to deepen students’ understanding and connection to Dvořák’s “New World Symphony.” The project is also an extension of the Symphony’s innovative “Music Unwound” series, which endeavors to contextualize music to provide deeper emotional and intellectual engagement of the audience. While “Music Unwound,” now in its third year, has previously targeted adults, this latest incarnation targets for the first time a younger segment and includes Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra (PSYO), plus hundreds of Irvine Unified School District (IUSD) students and faculty (including Alderwood Basics Plus Elementary and orchestra students from the district’s four high schools (Irvine, Northwood, University and Woodbridge).
The second half of the concert features Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9, nicknamed “From the New World,” which artfully melds the rich folk melodies of America with classical techniques. “From the New World” represents both the triumph and tragedy the Czech composer saw in American music when he visited in 1892, as well as his music’s impact on Americans. The performance by PSYO is followed by a post-concert conversation with Horowitz and others. Tickets are general admission (without reserved seating). To purchase reserved seat tickets in the Box Circle, call (714) 755-5799.
