The ACO is interested in growing the next generation of music lovers and has several programs where we collaborate with the teachers from area schools. Since the 2013-2014 season, the Austin Civic Orchestra has provided free admission to children 18 and younger to attend our concerts with their parent. Since 2016, the Orchestra has collaborated with area music and art teachers in the a Paint to Music Art Contest and then virtual Art Show. Since 2022, the ACO collaborates with AISD Elementary Music Teachers to have a joint concert with the children and their teachers in grades 3-5 in the Austin ISD Performing Arts Center. Finally, we are pleased to be on stage for the Austin ISD Music Memory Program as the performing orchestra.

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WHY

The purpose of this Paint to Music art show is to encourage our youth to explore the language of music and the role that classical music can play in enhancing creative expression through art.

WHAT

• The Austin Civic Orchestra invites students to create a work of art at home or in a classroom setting while listening to a movement from Symphony No. 4 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
• All entries will be digitally submitted by the art, music, or classroom teacher. (If this is not possible, contact us for arrangements to pick up the artwork).
• The submitted artwork will be arranged and presented in a streamed digital art show on and released on ACO’s Facebook page, and YouTube channel on May 12, 2024. 
• A link to the slide show will be sent to the teacher who submitted the artwork.
• For schools and programs that require a permission form for their students to participate, use this link to access the form (English) or this form in Spanish.

WHO

• The ACO Paint to Music Art Show is open to all students in grades 3-12 attending school in Austin and surrounding areas, including public, public charter, private, parochial, and home schools.
• Teachers will facilitate the artwork creation and submission.
• Participating teachers should send an email to the ACO Education Team to let us know you will be participating.  We will create a folder on our Google drive to store the uploaded artwork and provide a link to the folder.

WHEN

• The submission deadline is Friday, March 8, 2024. Early submissions are welcomed.
• The video of the submitted artwork will be streamed on Sunday, May 12, 2024 beginning at 3:15 pm.
• The artwork show video will be displayed in room 2.614 at the Butter School of Music at 3:15 pm.  All participants and their families are welcome to attend.

HOW

Students will create original artwork while listening to a recording of one of the movements from Symphony No. 4 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

• Videos
  Movement 1
  Movement 2
  Movement 3
  Movement 4
• Paint, crayon, marker, collage, assemblage, chalk or pastels can be used.
• Teachers may refer to these notes for background information on the music selection to provide background information for the students.
• Students should be encouraged to fill out the whole page or canvas. Because the artwork will be photographed, very light coloring or uncolored or blank areas should be avoided as these don’t present well in a digital art show.
• Only one entry per student will be allowed.
• Copy the digital copies of the artwork to the folder created when you let us know you plan to participate.
• Artwork should be labeled “studentfirstname_studentlastinitial_grade_movement”. E.g., Mario_G_3rd_Mvt1
• Files will be accepted in .jpg, .jpeg, .png, and .pdf formats only. Please do not remove the filename extension when uploading artwork.

LIVE PERFORMANCE

• As a bonus, all participating teachers, students, and their families are invited to attend the concert where the Austin Civic Orchestra will be performing this piece at the “Triumph of the Creative Spirit” concert.
• The concert will be held at Bates Recital Hall in the Butler School of Music on UT’s campus on May 12, 2024 at 4:00 pm. All can attend free of charge!
• See this page for further information.

QUESTIONS?

• Email us at education@austincivicorchestra.org or call 512-970-4882

Brass Ensembles

Woodwind Ensembles

String Ensembles

Percussion Ensembles

ACO’s Link Up Concert November 13, 202, 10 a.m. at the Austin ISD PAC

What is Link Up?

Carnegie Hall’s Link Up program pairs orchestras with students in grades 3–5 at schools in their local communities, giving students the opportunity to learn about, listen to, and perform great music. Students participating in Link Up explore an interactive curriculum in which they learn to sing and play an instrument in the classroom before performing with the orchestra from their seats at a culminating concert.

Link Up provides a free, high-quality yearlong curriculum that teachers can implement, along with teaching materials, online video and audio resources, and the professional development and support necessary to make the program an engaging experience for students.

Schools Receive:

• Link Up curriculum resources for each teacher (featuring repertoire for singing, playing the soprano recorder or violin, and program-related lesson plans and activities) with accompanying audio and video resources
• Link Up resources for students
• Professional development resources and webinar for lead teachers and administrators
• Access to Carnegie Hall’s online resources, including additional lessons and interactive classroom resources
• Access to Carnegie Hall’s Link Up Facebook group, which connects teachers, Carnegie Hall staff, and featured contributors to share ideas, student work, videos, and photos

What is Needed From Teachers:

• Fill out the interest form
• Watch the virtual teacher in-service to learn how to engage your students in the concert
• Fill out a survey from Carnegie Hall after the culminating concert

The Orchestra Swings

“Swing” is many things. It’s a distinctive rhythmic feel; a musical era dominated by big band jazz; a style of dance that grew alongside the music; and that elusive but unmistakable feeling that results when musicians are deeply tuned into each other and playing in sync, or “in the pocket.” Though swing is characteristic of jazz, an orchestra can also swing. Through the Link Up repertoire, hands-on activities, and a culminating interactive performance with [orchestra name] and jazz ensemble, students will explore the elements that contribute to that magical moment when musicians start to swing.

Repertoire Highlights:

• Thomas Cabaniss’s “Come to Play”
• George Gershwin’s “I Got Rhythm”
• Duke Ellington’s “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)”
• Florence Price’s “Juba” from Symphony No. 1
• John Clayton’s “Recorder Mae and the Giant Swing Machine”
• Duke Ellington’s “Duke’s Place”
• “When the Saints Go Marching In”

Questions?
Email the ACO Education Team
Call Amy Crandell at 512-970-4882

The annual Amster Chamber Music Program provides young musicians, eighteen years of age or less, from Austin and the surrounding area the opportunity to make music in a chamber ensemble.  This year, we plan to provide to funding to another organization to work with the students.  Students selected to be a part of the ensemble will receive college scholarships and the opportunity to perform at Austin Civic Orchestra concerts in the spring in a pre-concert event.

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