Virtual School Concert Experience
The Philadelphia Orchestra is offering a Virtual School Concert Experience with unique distance learning materials. This virtual experience will be offered at no cost in addition to our in-person school concerts, and is designed for grades 3–5, though any age can enjoy this vibrant program. The video is about 35 minutes long and will be released on March 1, 2022 via e-mail to registered teachers.
Registration is now closed. Please check back to this page later in the year for information about 2022–23 school concert programs.
Repertoire:
Saint-Georges Symphony No. 2
Coleman Red Clay and Mississippi Delta
Frank “Coqueteos,” from Leyendas, An Andean Walkabout
Chen and He "Falling in Love," from The Butterfly Lovers
Traditional/arr. Gray “Everybody Testifies You Are Good”
Go to the Teachers' Lounge
In-Person School Concerts in Verizon Hall
Check back for information about in-person school concert registration.
Bring your students to an unforgettable concert in Verizon Hall. Access to a curriculum and many other instructional materials is available upon registration. The cost for in-person school concerts is $8 per ticket. Find additional resources in the Teachers' Lounge.
Repertoire:
Falla “Ritual Fire Dance,” from El amor brujo
Smetana “The Moldau,” from Má vlast (excerpt)
Beethoven Fourth movement from Symphony No. 6 (“Pastoral”)
Dvořák Second movement from Symphony No. 9 (“From the New World”)
Coleman Seven O’Clock Shout
Billy Joel Fund for Music Education
Established in 2008 with an extraordinary donation from legendary singer-songwriter Billy Joel, the Billy Joel Fund for Music Education is earmarked to support and augment music education in the School District of Philadelphia. The Fund subsidizes tickets and transportation, allowing School District of Philadelphia Schools to receive 73 tickets and bus transportation to a School Concert each year.
To receive tickets and busing, schools and their music teachers must commit to attending a Teacher Workshop, devoting instructional time for preparation and reflection, and completing post-concert evaluation surveys. Please note that eligibility for the program is limited to elementary and middle schools within the School District of Philadelphia only.
About Jane H. Kesson
Jane H. Kesson (1926–2017) was a Philadelphia Orchestra patron since the age of 12. She went on to become a music educator for 45 years, teaching grades K–12 in public schools. During her career, and even in retirement, she brought hundreds of students to Orchestra concerts each year. In recognition of her extraordinary bequest, the Orchestra renamed its School Concert Program in honor of Miss Kesson in October 2018.
The Jane H. Kesson School Concert Program is funded in part by the Annenberg Foundation, Donald E. Barb, Esq. and the Rev. Bruce H. Davidson, the Stan and Jan Berenstain Healthy Kids Foundation, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co., the Julius and Ray Charlestein Foundation in memory of Morton and Malvina Charlestein, the Connelly Foundation, the Dolfinger-McMahon Foundation, Mr. Colin Gardner and Ms. Erika L. Faust, JKG Florida Business Corporation, the Billy Joel Fund for Music Education, Mrs. Beth Ann Wahl Kolpen and Mr. Jack Kolpen, Lincoln Financial Group Foundation, the Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Foundation, the Nancy and William A. Loeb Student Education Fund, Philadelphia Insurance Co., Linda S. Rothermel, the Volunteer Committees for The Philadelphia Orchestra, and an anonymous donor.