All in all, today was a fun first day interning with the NC Symphony! Mr. Schiller and Mr. Spencer, the CFO and director of education for the symphony, respectively, gave us presentations on the financial and outreach/education aspects of the organization, after which I began my main task of the day with Mr. Spencer. Each year, the NC Symphony performs concerts for elementary school children around the state, providing teachers and kids with booklets containing some information about the music and activities to help students better understand the music and how it connects to other subjects they study in school.
I worked on researching and compiling information on the various composers and pieces that will be part of the concerts next year to include in these booklets. Some of the composers that I read about I was already fairly familiar with, but others I was less familiar with, such as Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, a half black English composer from the early 20th century, who I spent probably the most time researching. Even though the classical music community of the time was generally very white and racist, Coleridge-Taylor was able to rise to prominence as a composer. Becoming interested in African American folk music later, he began to incorporate it into his own compositions and arrangements aiming to shed positive light on the music and reduce the racist stigmas white classical musicians of the time had placed on it.
Overall, getting to learn more about the history behind such a wide variety of music today was a lovely experience! Next up on my list of composers is Georges Bizet, who I know of but not very much about, as well as a few contemporary composers who I am entirely unfamiliar with but look forward to researching.
Your friendly local music nerd,
Rhoda