What's included
1 live meeting
35 mins in-class hours per weekClass Experience
Like a kaleidoscope, music can be colorful, ever-changing, and full of beautiful patterns. There are so many adventurous, engaging, exciting pieces of music to explore! In this ongoing class, students will experience a different piece each week, learn a little about it, and create something inspired by the music as they listen to it. Here's how the class will be structured: - (5-10 minutes) I will present a short introduction to the piece, which might include elements to listen for (such as texture, rhythm patterns, instruments to identify, emotions expressed, dynamics, etc.), historical background of the piece, or information about the composer. Students will choose a creative activity from a list of suggestions, such as writing a movie scene to match the music, painting a picture, or drawing "album art" to reflect the music. -(15-20 minutes) We will listen to the piece together as the students work on their chosen activities. If it's a long piece, an excerpt of it might be played; if it's a short piece, we might listen to it several times or listen to two different short ones. - (5-10 minutes) If students have finished their work, they may share their creations with the class if they'd like to. It is also okay to finish up outside class, and students are also free to post their work in the classroom. Students do not need any previous music knowledge to enjoy this class. Here is a list of the upcoming pieces; scroll down to see all the pieces we've explored in the past! Week of: (2024): January 6th: Symphony No 101 in D, "The Clock", by Franz Joseph Haydn January 13th: Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta by Bela Bartok January 20th: Nocturnes by Claude Debussy January 27th: Symphony No. 1 by Johannes Brahms February 3: Sinfonietta by Leoš Janáček February 10: Enigma Variations by Edward Elgar February 17: Cello Concerto in B Minor by Dvorak February 24: Piano Concerto No. 1 by Franz Liszt March 2: The Sorcerer's Apprentice by Paul Dukas March 9: Akhnaten by Philip Glass March 16: Passacaglia in G Minor by Handel March 23: Carmen Suite by George Bizet March 30: Maple Leaf Rag by Scott Joplin April 6: Spanish Rhapsody by Albeniz April 13: Sinfonie by Kurt Weill April 20: Piano Concerto No. 17 by Mozart April 27: Harp Sonata by Paul Hindemith May 4: Adagio for Strings by Samuel Barber May 11: La Campanella by Franz Liszt May 18: Viola Sonata by Rebecca Clarke May 25: Pines of Rome by Ottorino Respighi June 1: "Summer" from the Four Seasons, by Vivaldi June 8: "New World" Symphony, by Antonin Dvorak June 15: Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, by JS Bach June 21: Finale from Symphony No. 3 by Camille Saint Saens June 28: "Dance of the Knights" from Romeo and Juliet, Prokofiev July 27: Overture to "Midsummer Night's Dream" by Mendelssohn August 4: La Mer, third movement, by Claude Debussy August 11: Tre Momenti, by Matilde Capuis August 25: Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto, by He Zhanhao and Chen Gang September 7: Piano Concerto No. 20 by Mozart September 14: Violin Concerto No. 2 by Bartok September 21: Haydn Symphony No. 87 in A Major September 28: Totentanz by Franz Liszt October 5: "Night on Bald Mountain" by Mussorgsky arr. Rimsky-Korsakov October 12: Toccata and Fugue in D Minor by JS Bach October 19: October 26: Previous years: (2023): January 7: Also sprach Zarathustra by Richard Strauss January 14: Water Music by Handel January 21: Estancia Suite by Alberto Ginastera January 28: Symphony No. 9 by Franz Schubert February 4: Deep Red for Marimba and Orchestra, by Bright Sheng February 11: Symphony No. 33 by Mozart February 18: The Blue Danube Waltz by Johann Strauss II February 25: Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celeste by Bela Bartok March 4: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini by Sergei Rachmaninoff March 11: Pieces by Joseph-Nicolas-Pancrace Royer March 18: Mothership by Mason Bates April 1: Roman Carnival Overture by Hector Berlioz April 8: Appalachian Spring by Aaron Copland April 15: Peer Gynt Suite by Edvard Grieg April 22: Clair de lune by Claude Debussy April 29: In the Steppes of Central Asia by Alexander Borodin May 6: Requiem by Giuseppe Verdi May 20th: Art songs by Franz Schubert May 27th: Slavonic Dances by Antonin Dvorak June 3rd: Thracian Dances by Petko Staynov June 10th: Symphonic Dances from West Side Story by Leonard Bernstein June 17th: Scenes from Petrushka by Igor Stravinsky June 24th: Piano Concerto No. 2 by Sergei Rachmaninoff July 1: Deep Field by Eric Whitacre July 22: Violin Concerto by Beethoven July 29: Goldberg Variations by J.S. Bach August 5: Blow it Up, Start Again by Jonathan Newman August 12: Excerpts from La Boheme by Puccini August 26: Wood Notes by William Grant Still September 2: On the Last Frontier by Einojuhani Rautavaara September 9: Concerto for 4 Violins in B Minor by Vivaldi September 16: Songs of Farewell by Frederick Delius September 23: The Rite of Spring by Igor Stravinsky September 30: Pampeana No. 1 by Alberto Ginastera October 7: Ballade No. 1 by Frederic Chopin October 14: Le tombeau de Couperin by Ravel October 21: Cello Suite No. 1 by JS Bach October 28: Octet in F Major, by Franz Schubert November 4: Piano Concerto No. 3 by Prokofiev November 11: The Coronation of Poppea by Monteverdi November 18: Serenade for Strings by Tchaikovsky November 25: Death and Transfiguration by Richard Strauss December 9: Verklärte Nacht, Op. 4 by Arnold Schoenberg December 16: Madama Butterfly by Puccini December 30: Symphony of Sorrowful Songs by Henryk Gorecki (2022) January 1: Pieces by Astor Piazzolla January 8: Piano Concerto No. 23 by Mozart January 15: Overture to "The Flying Dutchman" by Richard Wagner January 22: Nights in the Gardens of Spain by Manuel de Falla January 29: "Mysterious Mountain", Symphony No. 2 by Alan Hovhaness February 5: Sonata "Undine" by Carl Reinecke February 12: Concerto for Mandolin and Strings by Antonio Vivaldi February 19: String Quartet in F by Maurice Ravel February 26: New York Counterpoint, by Steve Reich March 5: Concerto for Violin, Horn, and Orchestra by Ethel Smyth March 12: Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis by Ralph Vaughn Williams March 19: Pomp and Circumstance by Edward Elgar March 26: Piano Concerto No. 3 by Bela Bartok April 2nd: Three Dances, by John Cage April 9: Excerpts from "The Barber of Seville" by Rossini April 16: "Spring" from the Four Seasons by Vivaldi April 23: Scenes from Childhood, by Robert Schumann April 30: Rivers of Air by Jake Runestad May 7: Concerto for Three Harpsichords by J.S. Bach May 14: Finlandia by Jean Sibelius May 21: "Turangalila" Symphony, by Olivier Messiaen May 28: Symphony No. 25, by Mozart June 5: Overture to "Tannhauser", by Richard Wagner June 12: String Quartet in G Major, by Florence Price June 19: Excerpts from "Swan Lake", by Tchaikovsky June 26th: Nocturne for Flute and Piano, by Lili Boulanger July 3: Fantaisie-Impromptu, by Frederic Chopin July 10: Concerto for Clarinet and String Orchestra, by Aaron Copland July 17: String Quartet No. 3 by Alfred Schnittke July 24: Concerto for Violin in A Minor, BWV 1041, by J.S. Bach July 31: Variations on "Ah vous dirai-je, Maman" by Mozart August 7: Symphony No. 87 by Franz Joseph Haydn August 14: "Vesti la giubba" from Pagliacci by Ruggero Leoncavallo August 21: Symphony No. 5 in C-sharp Minor, by Gustav Mahler August 28: Quartet in E Minor for Four Flutes by Friedrich Kuhlau September 3: Mathis der Maler Symphony by Paul Hindemith September 10: Totentanz by Franz Liszt September 17: Sextet for Piano and Winds by Francis Poulenc September 24: Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun by Claude Debussy October 1: Caprices by Niccolo Paganini October 8: Keyboard Concerto, BWV 1052 by J.S. Bach October 15: Mars from "The Planets" by Gustav Holst October 22: Piano music of Louis Moreau Gottschalk October 29: Double Bass Concerto by Serge Koussevitzky November 4: Castor & Pollux by Harry Partch November 11: Fingal's Cave by Felix Mendelssohn November 18: The Firebird by Igor Stravinsky November 25: An Alpine Symphony by Richard Strauss December 3: Mother Goose Suite by Maurice Ravel December 10: Polonaises by Frederic Chopin December 17: "Sabre Dance" and "Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia" by Aram Khatchaturian December 24: Music from the Nutcracker by Tchaikovsky December 31: Short Ride in a Fast Machine by John Adams ----------- (2021): January 3rd: Excerpts from "Carmen" by George Bizet January 10th: "Spring" from The Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi January 17th: "Petrushka" by Igor Stravinsky January 24th: "La Campanella" by Franz Liszt January 31st: "O Fortuna" from Carmina Burana, by Carl Orff February 7th: Sonata for Viola by Rebecca Clarke February 14th: "Pines of Rome" by Ottorino Respighi February 21st: First movement from Symphony No. 5, Ludwig van Beethoven February 28th: "Summer" from The Four Seasons, by Antonio Vivaldi March7th: Excerpts from "The Valkyrie" by Richard Wagner March 14th: Symphony No. 9 by Antonin Dvorak March 21st: Toccata and Fugue in D Minor for Organ, by J.S. Bach March 28th: Finale from Symphony No. 3 by Camille Saint Saens April 4th: "Dance of the Knights" by Sergei Prokofiev April 11th: Excerpts from "Turandot" by Giacomo Puccini April 18th: "Pictures at an Exhibition" by Modest Mussorgsky April 25th:"Rhapsody in Blue" by George Gershwin May 2nd: "Rodeo" by Aaron Copland May 9th: Violin Sonata by Claude Debussy May 16th: Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 (arr. orchestra), by Franz Liszt May 23rd: Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, by Mozart May 30th: Magic Fire Music, by Richard Wagner June 5th: Percussion Concerto, by Jennifer Higdon June 12th: Gymnopedies, by Erik Satie June 19th: String Quartet No. 8 by Dmitri Shostakovich June 26th: "O virtus sapientiae" by Hildegard von Bingen July 3rd: Orchestral Suite No. 3, by J.S. Bach July 10th: Piano Concerto in A Minor, by Edvard Grieg July 17th: Introduction and Allegro for Harp, Flute, Clarinet and String Quartet, by Maurice Ravel July 24th: Harpsichord Sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti July 31st: Excerpts from "The Magic Flute" by Mozart August 7th: Ionisation, by Edgar Varese August 14th: Excerpts from "Carnival of the Animals", by Camille Saint Saens August 21: Scherzo No. 2, by Clara Schumann August 28: Symphony No. 3, by Johannes Brahms September 4th: Recorder Sonata in F, by G. F. Handel September 11th: Symphonie Fantastique, by Hector Berlioz September 18th: Music of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor September 25th: Symphony No. 40, W.A. Mozart October 2nd: Mysterium by Alexander Scriabin October 9th: Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra by Benjamin Britten October 16th: Piano Quartet No. 1 by Faure October 23: The Moldau, by Smetana October 30: Bolero, by Maurice Ravel November 6: Piano Sonata Op. 27, No. 2 "Moonlight", by Beethoven November 13: De Stijl from De Materie by Louis Andriessen November 20: Danses sacrée et profane by Debussy November 27: Piano Concerto No. 1 by Tchaikovsky December 4: "Devil's Trill" Sonata by Tartini December 11: Beethoven's 9th Symphony December 18: Cello Sonata in E Minor by Johannes Brahms Previous classes: 2020: October 25th: "Night on Bald Mountain" by Modest Mussorgsky November 1st: "Morning Mood" by Edvard Grieg November 8th: "La Mer" by Claude Debussy November 15th: "Hungarian Dance No. 5" by Johannes Brahms November 22nd: "Brandenburg Concerto No. 5" by J.S. Bach November 29th: "Maple Leaf Rag" by Scott Joplin December 6: "Russian Dance" from The Nutcracker by Piotr Tchaikovsky December 13: 'Revolutionary' Etude, Op. 10 no. 12 by Frederic Chopin December 20: "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" by Paul Dukas December 27: No class
Other Details
Parental Guidance
On certain weeks, students may need to use scissors.
Supply List
Each week, students will need paper and a pencil or pen. They may also bring markers, colored pencils, watercolor paints, or crayons. On some weeks there may be specific materials preferred, such as construction paper or glue, and I will post those in the classroom the week before.
External Resources
Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.
Teacher expertise and credentials
Through my teaching, I strive to encourage a love and knowledge of music that will be valuable to the student for a lifetime! I enjoy sharing the vivid beauty and excitement of music, and helping students explore new sounds and masterpieces that open up new worlds of music to them.
I have taught music history & theory, music appreciation, piano lessons, and other music courses from preschoolers to adults, over the past 15 years. I currently teach piano lessons, and music courses at a community college.
I have a Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance, and a Master of Music degree in Piano Pedagogy. My main instrument is the piano, but I also play the harp for fun, and I'm teaching myself to play the banjo. In my spare time, I enjoy discovering new music (the weirder the better!), modern art, eating dark chocolate, and figuring out how magic tricks are done!
Reviews
Live Group Class
$10
weekly1x per week
35 min
Completed by 71 learners
Live video meetings
Ages: 8-12
1-7 learners per class