At HoMe Lessons

Program Your Own Orchestra Concert

Students will listen to a wide variety of orchestra selections on YouTube and choose 4 works to program on a concert and set a performance order. Students can base programming solely on the music or can delve further by researching the background of the works to determine a linking overall theme. While this activity would be well suited for middle or high school band students, the repertoire is primarily high school or collegiate level.

Resources

Directions: Below you will find 22 wind band pieces along with links to listen to them on YouTube. Using only the options listed, develop a concert program of 4 pieces. Choose a theme, concert title, and list your piece choices in performance order. Then, in 4-6 complete sentences defend your reasoning for why you chose each piece AND why you placed it in that order.

In order to find a theme that links pieces, it may be helpful to use Google or other sources to find out the background of the piece—why was it written, what does it musically represent, is it telling a story, etc. On the pieces with multiple movements, feel free to use one or all movements to fit your theme.

  Download Worksheet – Orchestra (.pdf)

  Download Worksheet – Orchestra (.docx)