Overview
Each season, the wide-ranging education programs of the Columbus Symphony connect hundreds of thousands of young people, families, educators, students, and aspiring musicians of all ages. These creative experiences nurture the finest musical talent at all levels and harness the power of the arts to make a meaningful difference in young people’s lives.
Special Thanks To
Field Trips
Each year, thousands of students throughout the greater Columbus area participate in the Columbus Symphony’s Young People’s Concerts. Concerts are programmed at the Ohio Theatre and are thematically based, grade-appropriate, and aligned with current Ohio Academic Standards.
Our Concert Guidebooks included pre- and post-concert listening maps, worksheets, and activities to guide students and facilitate a wraparound educational experience.
All seats are $5 for students and chaperones (1 free chaperone ticket for every 20 students), including free digital concert resources and a Spotify concert playlist.
Need-based transportation grants are available through our Safelite Bee-thoven Express Bus Grant program at the link below.
Registration for all 2024-2025 YPC Concerts is now OPEN!
Wednesday, October 2, 2024 10:30 am I Ohio Theater
Come move and grove with us to some great classic orchestra tunes!
PROGRAM
Strauss Radetsky March
Grieg Norwegian Dance No. 2
Saint-Saëns Tortoises from Carnival of the Animals
Rossini Presto from Overture to William Tell
Sousa Stars and Stripes Forever
Tchaikovsky “Waltz of the Flowers” from The Nutcracker
Copland “Hoe Down” from Rodeo
Arr. O’Loughlin How to Train Your Dragon
This program is approximately 45 minutes
Thursday, October 17, 2024 10:30 am I Ohio Theater
Travel back in time to hear the music that created and shaped America!
PROGRAM
Gershwin Strike Up the Band
Dvorak Symphony No. 9 in E minor, IV. Allegro con fuoco
Traditional Yankee Doodle
Schuman “Chester” from New England Triptych
Joplin Maple Leaf Rag
Copland “Hoe Down” from Rodeo
Copland “Variations on a Shaker Melody” from Appalachian Spring
Williams “Harry’s Wondrous World” from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone Suite
Sousa Stars and Stripes Forever
This program is approximately 50 minutes
Wednesday, May 14, 2025 10:30 am I Ohio Theater
Explore musical movement and the connections between music and physical movement.
Link Up guides students grades 3–5 and music teachers through a months-long exploration of orchestral repertoire supported by extensive, freely-provided curriculum materials and online resources. The program culminates in an inclusive performance, at which students are invited to actively participate by playing recorder or string instrument, singing and dancing along with the orchestra. This year’s Link Up program, The Orchestra Moves, explores movement within music (melody, rhythm, and harmony), as well as how music moves those who experience it. Through the Link Up repertoire, curriculum activities and a culminating, interactive symphony concert, together we will discover how the orchestra moves!
PROGRAM
Cabaniss Come to Play
Strauss II The Blue Danube
Beethoven Allegro con brio from Symphony No. 5
Tawengwa Mhande
Wei The Dancing Moonlight
Bizet “Toreador” from Carmen
Kats-Shernin “Knitting Nettles” from Wild Swans Suite
Rubinstein Shibolet Basdeh
Filho Cidade Maravihosa
This program is approximately 60 minutes
Link Up: The Orchestra Moves requires teacher participation in one mandatory professional development session to participate.
Teachers may choose between the two following 2024-2025 Link UP PD session dates:
Friday, November 15, 2024 from 6 pm – 7:30 pm or Friday, March 14, 2025 6 pm – 7:30 pm.
During each PD session, teachers will receive all materials to implement Link Up into their classroom.
Light snacks and drinks will be provided as well as (2) free Masterworks tickets to that evening’s CSO Mastworks performance.
SAFELITE BEE-THOVEN EXPRESS BUS GRANTS
School field trips play an important role in arts education efforts, providing exposure to arts events otherwise inaccessible to many students. The Safelite Bee-thoven Express Grant program helps schools and other educational groups defray transportation costs to attend Columbus Symphony Young People’s Concerts. These early arts experiences create new relationships between Ohio’s youth and the Columbus Symphony, and support in-school arts learning activities critical to overall academic development.
GRANT AWARDS: Applicants may request up to $600. No match is required.
ELIGIBILITY: Eligible organizations include—but are not limited to—public, private, charter, or parochial schools (pre-kindergarten through secondary) and associations of home-schooled students. Multiple applications from a single school district are permissible within a single fiscal year. When funds are limited, priority will be given to new applicants. Priority status is also given to rural and urban students from underserved areas of Ohio. All applicants must possess nonprofit status or nonprofit intent.
HOW THE PROGRAM WORKS: The Safelite Bee-thoven Express Grant program supports transportation costs for educational field trips to the Columbus Symphony Young People’s Concert for grades K-12. Applicants are responsible for making all transportation and destination arrangements. Funds must be used for field trip-related travel expenses, including but not limited to securing buses or vans and licensed drivers, fuel and parking costs, and accessibility expenses.
HOW TO APPLY: Applications must be submitted via application here. Applications must include a copy of a document verifying the actual transportation cost (a purchase order, written estimate, transportation company contract, vehicle rental agreement, letter from a superintendent or other authorizing official, etc.).
REVIEW CRITERIA: CSO staff members evaluate applications on a rolling basis with priority given to applications submitted at least 6 weeks prior to each event.
TIMELINE:
At least 6 weeks prior to event: Priority deadline
4-6 weeks prior to the event: Grant award letters sent by email
1 month following the event: Invoice deadline for all Awardees
APPLICATION DEADLINE: Applications are accepted on a rolling basis with priority given to applications submitted at least 6 weeks prior to each event.
QUESTIONS CONTACT:
Meghan McDevitt, Director of Education, mmcdevitt@columbussymphony.com
Each season, the Columbus Symphony opens several of its working dress rehearsals to middle school and high school music students. These unique opportunities provide an insider’s view of how the CSO prepares for their upcoming Masterworks concert.
All open rehearsals take place at the Ohio Theater starting at 10 am. Please note rehearsal will take place two sessions 10 am-11:15 am and 11:35 am-12:30 am with an intermission in between. Groups are welcome to stay for one or both sessions. All seats are $5 each and or free for Title 1 schools and include a free donut.
Registration for all Donut Dress Rehearsals is now OPEN!
Friday, October 5, 2024 10 am
Wagner: The Ring Without Words
Be entranced by the legendary music of Richard Wagner’s immense operatic Ring cycle, reimagined for concert performance by legendary conductor and composer Lorin Maazel. Themes from The Ring’s four operas are expertly woven together, taking the listener on a journey through epic tales of mythical gods and heroes.
Friday, January 31, 2025 10 am
Sterling Elliot, cello
Corigliano: Phantasmagoria for Cello and Orchestra
Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 (“Eroica”)
In a Columbus Symphony co-commission, cellist Sterling Elliott performs famed composer John Corigliano’s Phantasmagoria for solo cello and orchestra. Rossen leads the orchestra in Beethoven’s sweeping third symphony, the ‘Eroica,’ or “Heroic” Symphony, written in a time of great personal despair for Beethoven as he faced the loss of his hearing while still resolving to push the boundaries of the symphonic genre.
Friday, February 28, 2025 10 am
Yazid Gray, baritone
Copland: Appalachian Spring
Daugherty: Letters from Lincoln
Dvořák: Symphony No. 8
Guest conductor Thomas Wilkins leads the orchestra in this captivating program. Copland’s sparkling Appalachian Spring is considered one of his finest works. Michael Daugherty’s Letters from Lincoln, written in celebration of the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth,features baritone soloist Yazid Gray. Dvořák’s poetic eighth symphony is full of charm, inspired by the composer’s reflections on nature and life.
Friday, May 16, 2025 10 am
Aubree Oliverson, violin
Tchaikovsky: Prelude from The Queen of Spades
Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 (“Pathetique”)
A master of drama and romance, Tchaikovsky’s music transports us to his distinctive musical landscape. On this program are some of his most beloved works. Aubree Oliverson, whose performances have been described as “powerful… brimming with confidence and joy” (Miami New Times) returns to Columbus with the exquisite Violin Concerto. The sixth symphony, Tchaikovsky’s last, is a passionate triumph from a composer at the pinnacle of his career.
AT YOUR SCHOOL
Our In-School Concert performances are FREE to all schools and are subject to availability throughout the season.*
Our In-school performances bring the Columbus Symphony and its forty-plus musicians to your school for a memorable concert that introduces students to the Orchestra in fun and exciting ways!
This concert can be tailored to accommodate audiences for grades K-2, 3-5, or 6-8.
Registration for all In-School Concerts is now OPEN!
Host: Z. F. Taylor
Have you ever wondered how a piece of music made you cry or dance around with excitement? Classical composers use different moods, tonality, structures, and instruments to help us understand the language of music. Join us as we explore these musical ideas and get to the heart of why music has such an impact on our feelings and emotions.
Our In-School Concerts are thematically based, grade-appropriate, and aligned with current Ohio Academic Standards.
All In-School Schools receive FREE digital concert guidebook that includes pre- and post-concert activities, concert listening maps, worksheets, and a Spotify playlist to guide students and facilitate a wraparound musical experience.
We ask all schools to agree to provide the following:
All selected schools will be contacted and an in-person site visit scheduled at least 4 weeks before the concert date.
Mindful Music Moments is a program that teaches stress reduction and mindfulness techniques through classical music. At the start of each day, students listen to four minutes of recorded classical music and relaxation prompts during morning announcements. Part music appreciation and part stress-reduction techniques, the program offers insight into the composers and music history while taking a moment to calm students’ minds and prepare them to learn. A limited number of free subscriptions are available to Columbus City Schools on a first-come first-served basis.
Performance Opportunities
Open to all high school level band, orchestra, and choral ensembles, the Youth 2 Youth Music Festival aims to provide school music groups the platform to perform at the prestigious Ohio Theater for family, friends, peers, and the greater Columbus community.
Check back soon for more details!
Check back soon for more details!
Check back soon for more details!
Open to all Columbus Columbus City Schools the All-City Program allows CCS teachers and students the opportunity to to connect with the broader Columbus music community by providing access to CSO professional musicians, conductors, and professional arts venues.
Each year CCS high school and middle school instrumental teachers participate in this unique program that offers support and enrichment to music students within the school day with an 8-week residency with CSO musicians to prepare each season’s selected Festival repertoire.
Students from all participating schools will have the chance to be nominated by their teacher to perform in the All-Star Ensemble comprised of members from all participating schools. These selected students will get the additional opportunity to represent their school by playing in the All-Star All-City Ensemble (ACE) at the Festival Concert and attend a Saturday retreat to work with the Assistant Conductor of the Columbus Symphony.
online Resources
The Columbus Symphony celebrates the resourcefulness and resilience of music educators in Central Ohio who work with students in classrooms and online through a range of distance-learning platforms and technologies. Drawn from programs created this collection offers an array of digital programs and resources for educators to use free of charge. To register, please use the link below:
Have a question or want to learn more? Contact Director of Education, Meghan McDevitt
mmcdevitt@columbussymphony.com | 614.221.4916
