INNOVATION: MUSIC AND LYRICS

The Colonial Symphony continually "pushes the envelope" in finding effective ways to convey the magic of music to students. Recent programs have explored the synergy between words and music.

In the spring of 2002, the Colonial Symphony and the Morristown school system presented an extensive, innovative, interactive program designed around the premiere in May of Jersey Rain by Colonial Symphony Composer-in-Residence David Sampson. The piece was based on poetry by former Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky (a New Jersey native) who attended the premiere and interacted with students. Participating in the project were literary and composition classes, the student choir, and student musicians. Elements of the program have been repeated in subsequent years.

The Fifth Grade "Young Person's Concert" described above, which now includes both poetry and art, is an outgrowth of this program.

This program is made possible by special funding from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, as well as from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation and the Morris Education Foundation.