Tour Legacy Projects
Helping to support and sustain music programmes in schools is one of the main goals of the educational outreach on annual NAC Orchestra (NACO) Tours. Aside from the performances and teaching NACO musicians do during the tours, there are a few special programmes designed and supervised by Claire Speed, Director of Music Education that involve students from a select group of schools in more in-depth learning experiences that begin well in advance of, and continue beyond, the tours.
With the aid of teaching resources and instructional support provided by the NAC, participating teachers are well equipped to start the projects with their students and to continue the music teaching long after the Orchestra has left their community. These “legacy” projects begin weeks in advance of a Tour and may include the study of a well known composer, recorder instruction for teachers and students, a creative component designed and performed by students, and in the case of the 2005 Tour an in-depth study of Canadian music that will culminate in the performance of a commissioned work by a Canadian composer performed by student and professional musicians for a live audience. These experiences are rich and varied and have a profound impact on teachers and students alike.
Music Ambassador Programme
From January 2006 through June 2008, the Music Ambassador programme for elementary schools will reach thousands of students and teachers in up to 300 schools in Alberta and Saskatchewan. This PROGRAMME will begin in January 2006 following the NAC Orchestra’s Performance and Education Tour, with the objective of targeting teachers and schoolchildren in grades 4-5-6 in rural (70%) and urban (30%) communities.
Teaching Musicians hired by the NAC will be responsible to deliver 45-minute to one-hour sessions in elementary school classrooms throughout Alberta and Saskatchewan using the Vivaldi and the Four Seasons Teacher Resource Kit and other music resources to tie in with the provincial guidelines for music, grades 4-6. They will also lead teacher clinics to instruct on how to use these music resources in the classroom.
For more information about the Music Ambassador Programme please contact Erin Barnhardt – Programme Coordinator (613)947-7000 ext 342 ebarnhar@nac-cna.ca
