New York Philharmonic Launches NY Phil Learning @ Home

The New York Philharmonic launches NY Phil Learning @ Home, a new portal with a collection of online concerts, lessons, videos, and other resources to engage young audiences, their families, and teachers.

Content includes the new video series Very Young People's Concerts @ Home, hosted by Associate Principal Viola Rebecca Young with guest appearances by her Philharmonic colleagues, recorded from their homes; Very Young Composers Musical Postcards Express, an online exchange program between Very Young Composers in New York and Finland; and What's in My Case?, a new video series in which Philharmonic musicians open up their instrument cases and give advice on gear and practice tips.

This content is added to previously released material: Young People's Concerts Play!, on-demand broadcasts of past Young People's Concerts with interactive components, with new episodes forthcoming; and lesson plans and activities for home learners. More initiatives to be announced.

The Philharmonic will launch a virtual version of its popular Very Young People's Concerts (VYPCs), recorded by Philharmonic musicians from their homes. Hosted by Associate Principal Viola Rebecca Young (a.k.a. Becky), who also hosts the live concert series, Very Young People's Concerts @ Home is designed for pre-school children and their families. In each approximately 15-minute episode, Becky will be joined by members of the Orchestra, representing different instrument families. New episodes will be released beginning Saturday, May 16 at 11:00 a.m. EDT as Facebook and YouTube Premieres.

In the first episode, "Musical Conversations," Principal Viola Cynthia Phelps will join Becky in musical copycat games, in which one instrument echoes what another is playing. This concept is further explored in the featured musical interlude, a past Philharmonic performance of Mozart's Sinfonia concertante, with Principal Associate Concertmaster Sheryl Staples as solo violinist and Cynthia as viola soloist. Children are encouraged to dance and draw along to each of the solo parts of the piece.

Upcoming episodes include "Allegro and Adagio," featuring Principal Harp Nancy Allen with selections from Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake; "Long and Short," featuring Principal Flute Robert Langevin with selections from Mendelssohn's Italian Symphony and Debussy's Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun; "Make-Believe," featuring Principal Trumpet Christopher Martin with selections from Musorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition; and more to be announced.

The New York Philharmonic Very Young Composers Program (VYC) continues its work with students in New York and around the world through Musical Postcards Express. Very Young Composers in New York have been writing music from their homes and exchanging improvisations and short found-sound explorations with their counterparts in Kuule, minä sävellän!, the VYC affiliate program in Helsinki, Finland. Their compositions and improvisations frequently incorporate instruments the students have constructed using materials found around their homes.

The Learning @ Home portal also includes short videos of Philharmonic Teaching Artists demonstrating how young people with or without musical backgrounds can create works of art from home, including "Turn a Poem into a Song" with Jacinta Clusellas, "Creating a Joyful Musical Pattern" with Project 19 composer Angélica Negrón, and "Duet with Your Heartbeat" with Molly Herron.

As part of the ongoing series We Are NY Phil @ Home, in which Philharmonic musicians perform from their homes, the Learning @ Home portal includes a new video series called What's in My Case?. The videos feature members of the Philharmonic who open up their instrument cases, describe their gear, and give practice tips to students and learners of all ages. The first episode features Associate Principal Bass Max Zeugner; future episodes will include violinist Anna Rabinova, Assistant Principal Viola Cong Wu, and others.

A library of the Philharmonic's Young People's Concerts (YPCs) are available on-demand through YPC Play!, which features complete YPCs, interactive videos led by Philharmonic Teaching Artists, online tools to help children create their own music at home, and curriculum guides for parents and teachers. Episodes include Dvořák's New World Symphony, music of Jean Sibelius, and forthcoming features on the Harlem Renaissance and immigrant voices.

Learning @ Home hosts an array of other resources for teachers, students, and families that build on Philharmonic Schools, through which the Orchestra provides curricula and Philharmonic Teaching Artists to schools throughout the New York metropolitan area. Lesson plans for teachers developed over the past 20 years are available for download, including Music as a Change Agent (from 2020) and Coming to New York - Immigrant Voices (from 2019). Students of all ages can take advantage of self-guided activities linked to current Philharmonic digital programming, such as a Boléro scavenger hunt and a guide to "Dancing with Mahler," through the "Student Connections" tab; more content will continue to be added.

Families can also view the complete broadcast of Karen LeFrak's Sleepover at the Museum on Facebook and YouTube, recorded at the Philharmonic's Fun at the Phil family benefit concert in March 2020. The piece - composed by Ms. LeFrak, who is the author of the children's book on which it is based - follows the story of Mason and his friends on their adventures at a museum of natural history; it is introduced and hosted by Grammy-winning producer David Foster and narrated by Jamie Bernstein.

Much more online content will be added to the Learning @ Home portal in weeks to come.