When Music Tells a Story (Grades K – 5) This interactive program looks at how music can tell a story, without words. It is suited for younger children and will challenge their imaginations to listen for drama and action in music. The first half will focus on classical masterworks that follow a specific story or program (known as "program music" in the professional music world). McCallum will first tell the stories and give specific musical examples for the children to listen for in performances of selected Sports et Divertissements by Erik Satie and Ondine by Maurice Ravel. He then will perform several of Edvard Grieg’s Lyric Pieces and ask what action and drama the children heard in the music. In the second part of this program, McCallum will improvise music to accompany stories that the students have written. In the assembly, students will read their stories while McCallum improvises music to accompany the drama. Study guides are available that integrate core curriculum subjects with “When Music Tells a Story” (literature/composition, music, art, science, PE/movement). Red, White and Blues (Grades 3 – 12) This program traces the development of America's unique musical voice through the popular works of ragtime, blues and jazz in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Performances of ragtime, blues and jazz styles will feature works of Scott Joplin, Louis Moreau Gottschalk, George Gershwin, Duke Ellington and Frederic Rzewski's fascinating avant-garde work “Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues.” McCallum will also lead an interactive discussion of the basic musical elements of these styles (rhythm, melody and harmony) and how they have evolved into modern popular forms of rap, rock and roll, country and alternative music. Study guides are available that integrate core curriculum subjects with “Red, White and Blues” (literature/composition, history, cultural studies, music, communication, life skills). Happy Birthday to the Piano (Grades K-5) Happy Birthday to the Piano is a program suited for elementary students in Grades K-5. The goal of this program is to make students aware of the rich history of the piano and its music, and how this music reflects trends in both art and world history. Mr. McCallum will begin by explaining how he can make the piano “talk” and express both his feelings and emotions and those of the great composers with music. After each selection he performs, Mr. McCallum will ask students to share what they felt the composer was trying to express in the music. Mr. McCallum will also share stories about the composers’ lives and the world they lived in and how this is expressed through the music. For older students (Grades 3-5), Mr. McCallum will also talk about the main periods of music history (Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Impressionist and Contemporary) and unique musical aspects of each style. The performance will conclude with everyone singing “Happy Birthday” to the piano and a musical guessing game in which Mr. McCallum will play variations on “Happy Birthday” in the style of the great composers and the students will test what they have learned and try to guess which composer might have written each variation. 300 Years of Pianos, People and Places (Grades 6-12) 300 Years of Pianos, People and Places is a program suited for students in grades 6-12. The goal of this program is to make students aware of the rich history of the piano and its music, and how this music reflects trends in both art and world history. The history topics listed in the outline of the program can be related to the music that Mr. McCallum will perform in each given section (I-V). Mr. McCallum will also relate the development of the piano as an instrument to these history events. In addition, Mr. McCallum will share stories about the composers’ lives and the world they lived in and how this is expressed through the music. Mr. McCallum will also talk about the main periods of music history (Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Impressionist and Contemporary) and unique musical aspects of each style. The performance will conclude with everyone singing “Happy Birthday” to the piano and a musical guessing game in which Mr. McCallum will play variations on “Happy Birthday” in the style of the great composers and the students will test what they have learned and try to guess which composer might have written each variation. TOP GREG MCCALLUM - E-MAIL - greg@gregmccallum.com