Concerts for Kids
Concerts for Kids is a special weekday concert program for school groups, presented at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco. Concerts for Kids serves more than thirty-five thousand schoolchildren throughout Northern California each year.
The San Francisco Symphony’s oldest education program, Concerts for Kids, continues the tradition of young people’s concerts begun here in 1919. The program provides an opportunity for schoolchildren to experience a live orchestral concert, performed by the San Francisco Symphony in a building designed specifically for orchestral music: Davies Symphony Hall. Concerts for Kids are created specially for schoolchildren. The performances are designed to be engaging, exciting, and fun, with great music that’s chosen for its appeal to young listeners. The conductor serves as narrator and guide.
Concerts for Kids performances are also created as important learning experiences for students, as an extension of the classroom. Designed to develop students’ understanding and appreciation of symphonic music, each concert presents musical concepts and ideas that align with nationally prescribed educational standards in music, and with music standards in the California State Department of Education’s Visual and Performing Arts Framework.
Program themes also lend themselves to integration with other curricular areas, such as language arts and social studies. Study Guides and CDs of the music to be performed are mailed to classrooms and home schools in advance of the concert. A free Docent workshop at Davies Symphony Hall for teachers, parents, and school volunteers demonstrates ways to prepare classes for the concert. Education Docents visit classrooms upon request and give free presentations.
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Study Guide and CD
The Study Guide is designed for the teacher as an instructional resource to prepare students for the Concerts for Kids experience. Study Guides and a free CD will be sent to all schools (including home schools) ordering tickets to Concerts for Kids. The Study Guide contains:
- information on the San Francisco Symphony and Davies Symphony Hall
- drawings of instruments suitable for duplication and distributing to students
- background on the music and composers being presented
- activities for introductory and follow-up learning experiences in the classroom
- a CD narrated by the conductor, who previews the music being performed, and who gives tips on "How to Listen" attentively to music.
Download an example of last year’s Concerts for Kids Study Guide.
The Study Guide and CD are integral elements of the Concerts for Kids experience. As in any curricular area, students’ learning is enhanced when it can be based on prior skills and knowledge, structured sequentially, when learning can happen experientially, and when a web of connections can be made across disciplines. The Study Guide and CD assist in these modes of instruction.
In "How to Listen," Concerts for Kids conductor Benjamin Shwartz gives some tips on how to listen carefully during a live concert. Live concerts are marvelous experiences! There’s a lot to see, and even more to hear. In fact, the more carefully you listen, the more you’ll hear in the music – and it will be even more exciting!
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Docent Program
The SFS holds Training Workshops for Docents — offered free to teachers, parents, and school volunteers — to demonstrate ways to prepare classrooms for the upcoming trip to Davies Symphony Hall. It is designed for both classroom teachers and for volunteers who will visit classrooms in advance of the concerts. The Workshop consists of:
- a meeting with the conductor, who will provide insight into the program
- a teacher’s guide designed to be used in the classroom
- teaching methods and presentation techniques
- a question-and-answer session
2007-2008 Season Training Workshop Schedule
Kindergarten through Grade 3 (concerts of April 21, 22, 24, and 25)
For first-time Workshop Participants
Saturday Feb 2 8:30a.m. – 12:00 noon
For returning Participants
Saturday Feb 2 10:00a.m. – 12:00 noon
Grades 3-9 (concerts of April 1, 3, and 4)
For first-time Workshop Participants
Saturday Feb 8 8:30a.m. – 12:00 noon
For Returning Participants
Saturday Feb 8 10:00a.m. – 12:00 noon
Sign up for the workshops now!
Docent Visit Request
Our docent program includes a visit by a docent who will present information to the class about Davies Symphony Hall and will discuss some of the music some of the music to be performed at Concerts for Kids. A few weeks prior to your Concerts for Kids performance date, an education Docent will make an appointment with the teacher or contact them in person.
Sign up for a docent visit now!
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Visual Arts Project – Gallery of Student Art
The San Francisco Symphony’s Visual Arts Project encourages students to create drawings that capture aspects of their trip to Davies Symphony Hall and the Concerts for Kids performance. The purpose of the Visual Arts Project is to encourage an appreciation of the concert as a visual experience as well as a musical one, and to provide follow-up to the Symphony visit. Students may capture any aspect of the visit: the Orchestra, the music, the building, or even the audience - any of these may be subjects for illustration. All students who submit an artwork receive a Certificate of Participation. The artworks will be juried, and a number of them chosen for a public exhibition. For the past two years, Concerts for Kids art by students has been displayed at the San Francisco Public Library, Main Branch.
View an online Galley of Student Art
Visual Arts Project Guidelines
Eligibility: Students who have attended a Concerts for Kids performance at Davies Symphony Hall.
Artistic Theme: Any aspect of the visit to Davies Symphony Hall. Students may title their work if desired.
Types of Entry: Drawings - crayon, felt-tip pen, magic marker, pencil, water color, finger painting, collage. No group projects, please.
Size of Entry: No larger than 16inches high and 18 inches wide. Matting is not required.
Labeling of Entry: All pieces must be clearly and legibly labeled in the upper right-hand corner on the back as follows (we suggest this labeling be written by the teacher and not the student):
- Name, home address, phone number of student
- Student’s age and grade
- Name and address of school, including zip code
- Name of teacher
- School phone number, including area code
Artwork submitted without this information will be disqualified.
Delivery Location: All entries are to be mailed to VISUAL ARTS PROJECT, Education Department, San Francisco Symphony, Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco, CA 94102.
Deadline for Receipt of Entries: May 22, 2008
Selection of Finalists: By members of the San Francisco Symphony Education Committee and the art community in San Francisco. All artwork becomes the property of the San Francisco Symphony and cannot be returned to the school, the student, or the parent.
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