The Philadelphia Orchestra is offering a Virtual School Concert experience with unique distance learning materials. This virtual experience will be in place of our in-person school concerts that usually take place in the spring, to ensure students (grades 3–5) and teachers can experience the orchestra from the safety of their homes and/or classrooms during these uncertain times.
Registration for the 2021 Virtual School Concert Experience is now closed.
The concert link will be sent via email to the registered teachers, and will be available between February 22 and March 12.
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
Go to the Teachers' Lounge
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, 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, Donald E. Barb, Esq. and the Rev. Bruce H. Davidson, the Dolfinger-McMahon Foundation, the Christian Humann Foundation, JKG Florida Business Corporation, the Billy Joel Fund for Music Education, Lincoln Financial Group Foundation, the Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Foundation, Philadelphia Insurance Co., Linda S. Rothermel, the Ethel Sergeant Clark Smith Memorial Fund, the Volunteer Committees for The Philadelphia Orchestra, and an anonymous donor.