“Scary!” “Excited!” “Surprised!” were the reactions of our students to the dramatic opening of Beethoven’s 5th Symphony. The C minor, fortissimo opening grabbed SWAN students’ attention as their “Orchestra Friends,” Luigi and Nina, played excerpts on violin and viola. Ava described the music as “serious,” and Jazzie said, “It sounded angry.” They learned that Beethoven created the driving energy of his entire first movement from 4 short notes, which he described as “the sound of fate knocking at the door.”
In stark contrast, Nina and Luigi began playing “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?” from Frozen. Immediately, 5-year-old Carly started dancing and said, “I like songs!” They observed that this song sounded “hopeful” and made them feel “happy.”
Luigi and Nina filled the hour session with many musical lessons. The students learned that Beethoven composed when completely deaf! They interactively clapped, danced, and sang to the gorgeous melodies that their friends played for them. Luigi and Nina asked the students to play chords on their ukuleles and our budding musicians played with the pros. The experience was fun and created an excellent, inspirational impression.
Thank you, LSO, for having your musicians teach and inspire our students through your Stand-Partner Program.
