The North Carolina Symphony is offering free virtual access to a concert and educational materials for teachers, students, and parents at home during coronavirus school closures.
The symphony hosts concerts and other educational sessions across the state. The concert is accompanied by a “Student Book,” which teaches musical concepts created with music educators and aligned with third, fourth, and fifth-grade standards, according to a press release.
“NCS is honored to support parents and teachers in carrying forward the education of our youth — and aims to provide children and adults alike with comfort and inspiration through music,” reads the press release.
The concert and materials can be found here using the password 1932. The symphony plans to release a “Teacher Workbook” online in the near future to provide educators and parents with more in-depth online lessons that have been modified for individual instruction.
The symphony started its second three-year residency in the schools of Jones County last fall — a series of music educational experiences for different ages concentrated in one district. The Simple Gifts Fund, a philanthropic organization, paid for the initiative after starting the first residency in Sampson County to provide resource-strapped districts with access to high-quality music education.
“Music can hit you in so many different ways,” said Margaret Turlington, Simple Gifts Fund coordinator. “And we forget about that in our world of testing today, how music can inspire a kid in a different way from the normal test mindset.”
Watch EdNC’s short documentary, “Colorful Sounds,” below on how the symphony is bringing music — and hope — to a district that lost two schools from the devastation of Hurricane Florence.
“Overall, we just want students to love music, find a way to include it in their life, to give them a way to help think about issues in the world through music,” said Wesley Schulz, an associate conductor for the symphony.
