Preludes Program

Preludes Program

Preludes 2020-2021 Season

Virtual Events for Schools and Home School Groups

In order to keep students, faculty and symphony musicians safe we will only offer virtual events for the 2020-2021 season. If it becomes safe to meet in person, we will reevaluate our plans mid-season.

Preludes programs are offered in schools throughout each academic year, generally November through April, and are scheduled individually with area school music teachers, parent-teacher organizations, administrators and home-school groups.

Professional members of the Charlottesville Symphony offer in-school programs such as:

Individual and small group instrument demonstrations that introduce basic musical concepts or that tie into other subject areas, such as literature or science. Musicians often visit in pairs, offering the chance to compare and contrast instruments.
Masterclasses and coachings that cover specific performing techniques or focus on music that students are studying in their school programs.

Preludes visits are intended as interactive presentations that suit the needs of individual music teachers and school programs, not as concert-like performances. Also, the types of programs listed above are suggested as guidelines, but we are not limited to them. If you’d like us to offer another program for your students, please let us know and we’ll do our best to meet your needs!

The purpose of Preludes visits at the elementary school level is to assist school districts’ recruitment efforts for their band and orchestra programs through demonstrations that acquaint students with instruments from each orchestra family. At the middle and high school level our goal is to assist you in teaching your students by providing extra attention to the section(s) you feel would benefit from our help.

To request a visit, please click on the link below marked "Request a Preludes Visit", fill out the form and return it via email to Elizabeth Roberts, Director of Youth Education, education@cvillesymphony.org. Be sure to mention what you’d like us to cover when you fill out your form. We are happy to work with you to develop a program that will achieve the goals you establish for your students.

How many Virtual Events can we make to your school?

Elementary Schools
We offer each public and private school in Central Virginia four free per academic year. There is no charge to your school for our first four virtual events, but we do ask that you fund any additional virtual events.

Middle Schools & High Schools
We offer four free virtual events per program (four for band, four for orchestra) to each public and private school in Central Virginia region. There is no charge to your school for these virtual events, but we do ask that you fund any additional virtual events.

Home School Groups
We are pleased to offer one free virtual event for each home school group of at least 20 students.

What constitutes a “Virtual Event”?

A virtual event is one musician working with your students for up to one hour. Two musicians offering a virtual event together or separately are considered two virtual events.