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: 

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
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(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