Music Education

Date March 17, 2010
Shows 69 – 70
Schools Frank McCoppin Elementary

We are more than halfway done with the 130+ performances we are playing for the San Francisco Symphony’s Adventures in Music Program. This morning we were at Frank McCoppin Elementary School in the inner Richmond District. We had a great time at this school: everyone clapped, snapped and waved along right in time – fun!

One of the pieces we perform is a fugue by the famous Argentinian composer, Astor Piazzolla. Leslie, our clarinetist, explains the concept of community first – how the kids’ classes are communities, their school is a community… there are communities in so many places. We all build community by talking and working together, when we give everyone a chance to speak and express themselves. Piazzolla’s fugue, Calambre, shows one way that we build the community of Quinteto Latino. The musicians in the group work together, each having a chance to express themselves by stating the fugue subject, adding each of their voices to the piece. First the piccolo plays, then the clarinet, then the oboe and finally the horn and bassoon coming in together.

At the end of our program at each school, we always make time for the students to ask questions or, sometimes, make comments. During the question/comment time at this school one of the students had some great ideas about what exactly each musical voice in the quintet was “saying” while performing this piece. This is what he heard:

“When Diane started on the piccolo, it made me think she was saying ‘Do you like my idea?’ When Leslie entered next on the clarinet, she was telling Diane ‘Yeah, I like that idea. Yeah, I like it more than you do!’ Kyle’s entrance said ‘Me too.’ Armando on the French horn said ‘Look out, an earthquake is coming!’ and Charles on the bassoon said ‘The playground is damaged!’”

It’s amazing how clear that story was to that student and how he really heard the piece as a conversation between individuals, expressing themselves.