The North Carolina Symphony (NCS) leads the most extensive music education program of any U.S. orchestra, and the Symphony’s partnerships with organizations in the communities it serves are an integral link to delivering its educational mission. In October, NCS launches its first annual Education Partners Month in appreciation of its more than 100 school and community collaborators across the state that join the Symphony in prioritizing music education.
Events held throughout the month of October will highlight several of these partnerships—both enduring and new—creating opportunities for families, concertgoers, and students of all ages.
Pre-Concert Student Performances
Kidznotes
Friday, October 7 at 6:15pm
Meymandi Concert Hall
To launch Education Partners Month, Kidznotes will take the mainstage for an incredible opportunity to perform in the 1700-seat Meymandi Concert Hall together with 10 North Carolina Symphony musicians, under the baton of Music Director Grant Llewellyn. Kidznotes students will work with Symphony musicians in the week leading up the performance, which takes place before an NCS Raleigh Classical Series concert and doubles as Kidznotes’ season-opener.
Kidznotes students come from underserved neighborhoods in Raleigh and Durham; the intensive instrumental instruction they receive changes their life trajectories. Throughout the season, NCS’s partnership with Kidznotes provides students and parents with free access to Young People’s Concerts, Raleigh Classical Series concerts, and master classes with guest artists. In addition, Kidznotes teachers and staff attend the Symphony’s Teacher Workshop to gain ideas to take back to their classrooms.
Open to October 7 ticketholders, and Kidznotes families and guests.
WCPE String Quartet
Friday, October 14 at 7:15pm
Betty Ray McCain Gallery, Meymandi Concert Hall
Two NCS musicians, Associate Principal Cellist Elizabeth Beilman and Assistant Principal First Violinist Rebekah Binford, coach outstanding high school students in the WCPE String Quartet. This group is part of the North Carolina Chamber Music Institute (NCCMI); their scholarships are funded by a WCPE Education Fund grant. The exceptional student quartet will perform as part of the Symphony’s pre-concert Ovations series, in the Betty Ray McCain Gallery at Meymandi Concert Hall before the Raleigh Pops Series season premiere.
Open to October 14 ticketholders.
Duke University String School
Friday, October 21 at 7:15pm
Betty Ray McCain Gallery, Meymandi Concert Hall
As longtime participants of the both the Ovations pre-concert series and master classes with NCS guest artists, students from the Duke University String School—a pre-college string program for more than 250 students, with strong community roots—wi
Open to October 21 ticketholders.Triangle Youth Philharmonic
Saturday, October 22 at 7pm
Meymandi Concert Hall
NCS regularly partners with the Philharmonic Association’s youth orchestra program, offering coaching sessions, master classes, access to observe open rehearsals, and more. The string section of the Association’s most advanced ensemble, the Triangle Youth Philharmonic—which is the official youth orchestra of the North Carolina Symphony—will perform onstage before a Raleigh Classical Series concert on October 22.
Open to October 22 ticketholders.
Events for Families
Instrument ZooSaturday, October 8 from 11am – 2pm
Marbles Kids Museum
Children of all ages are invited to try out the instruments of the orchestra at Marbles Kids Museum. Four times each year, NCS musicians and volunteers bring the Instrument Zoo to Marbles for museum visitors to enjoy. The Brio String Quartet, a North Carolina Chamber Music Institute (NCCMI) student ensemble, will perform from 1 to 2pm.
NCS and Marbles Kids Museum also partner throughout the year to offer activities for children before Young People’s Concerts and select Summerfest concerts—from instrument-making workshops to experiments with water and sound.
Free and open to Marbles Kids Museum visitors.
Music Discovery Preschool Programs
Monday, October 17 at 10:30am
Wake Forest Renaissance Centre
&
October 25, 2016 at 10am
Cumberland County Public Library
NCS invites preschoolers and their families to join for two mornings of music, storytelling, and the hands-on Music Makers Instrument Zoo with Symphony musicians. Children will hear the sounds of the string quartet on October 17 at the Wake Forest Renaissance Centre, and will be introduced to the French horn with Rachel Niketopoulos on October 25 at the Cumberland County Public Library in Fayetteville.
NCS’s Music Discovery is part of PNC’s Grow Up Great initiative and is presented in collaboration with libraries, museums, and Head Start programs across the state. Music Discovery has grown 50% since it launched three years ago, expanding into rural areas of the state and offering 30 events last season.
Free and open to the public.
Music Educator Awards
Saturday, October 8 at 8pm concert
Meymandi Concert Hall
The North Carolina Symphony’s partnership with North Carolina schools dates back to the 1940s; every day, dedicated teachers work together with NCS to bring the highest quality music education opportunities to students. The Symphony’s annual Music Educator Awards celebrate extraordinary teachers in our state.
This year’s awards are presented at the October 8 Raleigh Classical Series and honor Scott Laird (Fine Arts Coordinator and Instructor of Music, The North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, Durham); Elizabeth Lynn McCollum (Director of Orchestras, William G. Enloe Magnet High School, Raleigh); Lee LaPlace (Teacher and Chorus Director, Banks Road Elementary School, Raleigh); and Phyllis Garriss (Founder of the Lamar Stringfield Music Camp, Raleigh).
Open to October 8 ticketholders.
Seminar at Shaw University
Thursday, October 20 at 11am
Shaw University
NCS launches a new partnership with Shaw Universitythis year. Associate Conductor David Glover will appear as the featured guest speaker at a Cultural and Spiritual Enrichment Seminar (CASES) for first-year students on October 20. Throughout the season, the Symphony will provide opportunities for Shaw University students to attend open rehearsals and evening concerts.
Open to Shaw University students.
Education ConcertsIn collaboration with 26 North Carolina school systems and home-school families, and aligning with the music curriculum set by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, NCS provides training and resources for teachers, sends small ensembles into classrooms, and performs full-orchestra concerts for students throughout the school year. In October, the Symphony welcomes 4th and 5th graders from Harnett, Lee, and Wake counties to Meymandi Concert Hall for Education Concerts that are interactive, engaging, and teach core musical components such as melody, rhythm, and dynamics. Teachers may register for Education Concerts at www.ncsymphony.org.
Find the most up-to-date information about the North Carolina Symphony’s Education Partners Month at www.ncsymphony.org/
About the North Carolina Symphony
Founded in 1932, the North Carolina Symphony holds more than 175 performances and events annually, reaching adults and schoolchildren in more than 90 North Carolina counties. An entity of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, NCS employs 66 full-time professional musicians, and performs under the artistic leadership of Music Director Grant Llewellyn and Associate Conductor David Glover.
Based at the spectacular Meymandi Concert Hall at the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Raleigh, the Symphony’s service across the state includes series in Chapel Hill, Fayetteville, New Bern, Southern Pines, and Wilmington, as well as Summerfest concerts at the outdoor Koka Booth Amphitheatre in Cary. NCS brings some of the world’s greatest artists to North Carolina, including Lang Lang, Stephen Hough, and Augustin Hadelich in the 2016/17 season.
Committed to engaging students across North Carolina, NCS leads the most extensive education program of any U.S. orchestra. In alignment with the music curriculum set by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, the Symphony provides training and resources for teachers, sends small ensembles into classrooms, and presents full-orchestra Education Concerts experienced by more than 52,000 fourth and fifth graders each year. At the middle and high school levels, students have opportunities to work directly with NCS artists and perform for NCS audiences.
In spring 2017, NCS will appear at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., as one of four orchestras chosen for the inaugural year of SHIFT: A Festival of American Orchestras—an honor that recognizes the Symphony’s creative programming and innovative community partnerships.
