I create these resources with the goal of making classical music appreciation in the home as accessible as possible. If there’s a topic you would like to see addressed, please reach out! I’m eager to create where there’s a need.
This activity book for ages 8+ accompanies the The Story of Classical Music, Part I. Each lesson has a drawing, listening, and journaling activity followed by a quiz to do in conjunction with the corresponding chapter in the music history guide. These activities are designed to deepen understanding of music history + theory while facilitating a connection to the works of music as living pieces of art.
This activity book for ages 3-7 accompanies the Classical Encounters Music History Series, Volume 1. It includes coloring pages + simple circle/color/describe what you hear prompts to help littles stay engaged while absorbing the music and knowledge contained in the corresponding music guide. The coloring illustrations are carefully selected, ensuring high quality depictions of scenes or elements on the topic of the guide.
From Gregorian chant of the Middle Ages to the royal court music of the early Baroque era, learn how the first composers began to layer melodies into complex musical structures and patterns that resembled the cathedrals of Europe and the richly woven tapestries of palaces. Narrated in a storytelling style that engages young and old ages alike, the Classical Encounters Music History Series brings the whole family together in encountering the masterpieces of the classical repertoire while learning the key contributions of each work, composer and era. In each chapter you will explore the relationship between composers and their worlds by connecting the dots between art, architecture, history and music. After breaking down key musical terms and techniques, each chapter concludes with a listening activity that draws attention to the special musical details within the score in order to encounter more deeply the masterpieces of the classical repertoire as living works of art. Corresponding playlists, listening activities and instructional videos provide a comprehensive, engaging approach so that all ages can deepen their understanding and appreciation of one of the world’s richest art forms.
This activity book for ages 8+ accompanies the The Story of Classical Music, Part I. Each lesson has a drawing, listening, and journaling activity followed by a quiz to do in conjunction with the corresponding chapter in the music history guide. These activities are designed to deepen understanding of music history + theory while facilitating a connection to the works of music as living pieces of art.
This activity book for ages 3-7 accompanies the Classical Encounters Music History Series, Volume 1. It includes coloring pages + simple circle/color/describe what you hear prompts to help littles stay engaged while absorbing the music and knowledge contained in the corresponding music guide. The coloring illustrations are carefully selected, ensuring high quality depictions of scenes or elements on the topic of the guide.
Deepen appreciation of nature and knowledge of geography as you listen to classical music inspired by rivers and oceans!
This 63 page digital download contains music activities on four of the most famous musical depictions of water in classical music.
Your family will learn about the composers, explore the geography of their home countries and hear how these masterpieces bring to life the beauty of water through streams of sound that flow with grace, momentum and power!
Each of the four music lessons are paired with a famous poem on water and an accompanying drawing activity to facilitate synthesizing the visual, literary and musical arts. In addition, each piece of music on rivers comes with a “color in the river map” to deepen understanding of geography as you listen!
Organized into four simple, inspiring and informative lesson plans which you can easily implement into your home nature appreciation activities.
What ages is it for?
Ages 3+
With coloring pages for littles, activities for ages 8+ and engaging and informative knowledge for all ages, this guide is an excellent family activity!
COMPOSERS COVERED: Smetena, Strauss, Glass and Debussy
ACCOMPANYING CHILDREN’S ACTIVITIES:
Drawing, Journaling, Listening and Coloring Activities to complete to facilitate active listening and prompt a response.
LESSON 1: A RIVER’S JOURNEY
Featuring The Moldau by Smetena
LESSON 2: WALTZING DOWN THE DANUBE
Featuring The Blue Danube Waltz by Strauss
LESSON 3: THE MIGHTY AMAZON
Featuring Águas da Amazônia by Glass
LESSON 4: RIDING WAVES OF SOUND
Featuring La Mer by Debussy
Includes playlist and QR Codes for music tracks on Spotify, Apple Music or Youtube!
This is a 63 page digital download.
From Gregorian chant of the Middle Ages to the royal court music of the early Baroque era, learn how the first composers began to layer melodies into complex musical structures and patterns that resembled the cathedrals of Europe and the richly woven tapestries of palaces. Narrated in a storytelling style that engages young and old ages alike, the Classical Encounters Music History Series brings the whole family together in encountering the masterpieces of the classical repertoire while learning the key contributions of each work, composer and era. In each chapter you will explore the relationship between composers and their worlds by connecting the dots between art, architecture, history and music. After breaking down key musical terms and techniques, each chapter concludes with a listening activity that draws attention to the special musical details within the score in order to encounter more deeply the masterpieces of the classical repertoire as living works of art. Corresponding playlists, listening activities and instructional videos provide a comprehensive, engaging approach so that all ages can deepen their understanding and appreciation of one of the world’s richest art forms.
An Activity Packet for Ages 8+ to accompany the Nature in Music Part I: Skies.
This is an 18 page digital download of Listening, Journaling and Drawing Activities that includes learning about cloud types, the constellations, ideas for art projects and an Art Tutorial to learn how to draw a Sunrise over the Swiss Alps!
To turn learning into a celebratory, enriching family activity, print these up for ages 8+ to complete while you read to them from the Sky Listening Guide! (and be sure to add on the Activity Packet for Ages 3-7 if you have littles in the home!)
An Activity Packet for Ages 3-7 to accompany the Nature in Music Part I: Skies. Includes 6 coloring pages of beautiful sunrises, storms, clouds and stars & moon. To make learning into a family enrichment activity, print these up for young ages to color while you read to them from the Sky Listening Guide!
Journey through classical works that encapsulate the reverence, wonder, and delight we feel when experiencing the Beauty of Nature! This first volume in the Nature series explores the theme of “SKY” in classical music through ten masterpieces inspired by sunrises, clouds, storms, and starry nights.
Organized into simple, inspiring and informative lesson plans which you can easily implement into your classroom nature appreciation activities!
COMPOSERS COVERED: Grieg, Britten, Strauss, Ravel, Grofe, Debussy, Chopin, Barber, Lauridsen, and Dvorak
PART I: SUNRISE
Experience a sunrise in 4 locations: in a desert, on a island, overlooking the sea, and on top of a mountain in the Swiss Alps.
PART II: CLOUDS
Hear musical cloud formations through the orchestral and piano works of Debussy & Chopin.
PART III: STORM
Experience a dramatic storm over the Grand Canyon in Grofe’s iconic American masterpiece.
PART IV: MOON & STARS
Listen to one of the most beautiful arias in the opera repertoire about the moon. Then conclude your journey through musical skies with 2 exquisite choral settings of a classic American poem about looking up at the stars in wonder on a moonlit night.
Includes playlist and QR Codes for music tracks on Spotify, Apple Music or Youtube!
If you would like to accompany these musical encounters with listening, drawing and journaling activities for the children in your home, be sure to add on the “Activity Packets” listed below, which includes:
-Coloring Pages for Littles (Ages 3-7)
-Drawing Activities for Ages 8+ featuring constellations, cloud types and an Art Tutorial by Artist Elisabeth Waldstein featuring a Sunrise over the Swiss Alps
-Listening & Journaling Activities to facilitate Active Listening
This is a 29 page digital download.
Drawing, Listening, Journaling and Quiz Activities to accompany the Genius of Bach Listening Guide.
Coloring and Simple Journaling Pages to accompany the Genius of Bach Listening Guide
Arriving in the final years of the Baroque era, Bach stood firmly on the shoulders of the two hundred years of musical innovation that had come before him and poured fresh, bold creativity into Baroque forms. Though he never left his home country of Germany, he created an entire universe of sound by assimilating the national styles of his time into sixty volumes of masterpieces, which stand as the most profound body of musical works by a single mind in the history of music. In Bach’s music, we hear all that the Baroque era had worked hard to create: richly layered polyphonic lines, abundantly ornamented melodies and dramatic expression molded by mathematical precision and scientific innovation. In this 4 week study, you’ll experience the masterpieces of one the greatest geniuses in history and learn exactly why his music laid the groundwork for all of Western music after him.
CHAPTER 1: CHORALES & CANTATAS AT THOMASKIRCHE
Sacred Church Music of St. Thomas Church
CHAPTER 2: BACH’S CLAVIER:
Mathematical Puzzles on the Keys
CHAPTER 3: ONE STAFF; AN ENTIRE UNIVERSE
A Thrift Store Find Two Hundred Years Later
CHAPTER 4: BAROQUE INTO THE COSMOS
Brandenburgs Take Flight on the Voyager Golden Record
Includes a 1hr+ playlist on Spotify, Apple Music or Youtube of Bach’s masterpieces.
This is a digital download ~
FOR ADDITIONAL CHILDREN’S ACTIVITIES, SEE ADD ON “ACTIVITY PACKETS BELOW, which include:
-Drawing tutorial on “Thomaskirche” - the famous St. Thomas Church in Leipzig where Bach spent most of his life composing his famous sacred works
-Learn how to draw Bach’s Monogram!
-Coloring, Drawing, Listening, Journaling and Quiz Activities for Ages 3+
Listening, Journaling, Drawing and Quiz Activities to accompany Baroque Splendor Part II Listening Guide.
Coloring Pages and Simple Journaling Prompts to accompany the Baroque Splendor Part II Listening Guide.
Learn how orchestras grew into more powerful, robust ensembles with the additions of brass and woodwinds and how composers’ masterpieces started to become part of the social fabric; music that had been previously only available within palace walls became accessible to all classes, in places such as public gardens, taverns, and coffeehouses. As you journey through the powerful music of composers Handel, Rameau and Telemann, you will also learn how this era received the name “Baroque”! (teaser: this term was used in reference to very innovative, decadent and daring strains of music that caused an uproar in Paris!)
CHAPTER 1: A ROYAL BIRTHDAY AND CORONATION
George Frideric Handel
CHAPTER 2: A BARGE PARTY ON THE THAMES RIVER
George Frideric Handel
CHAPTER 3: THREE UNUSUAL PEARLS OF PARIS
Jean-Philippe Rameau
CHAPTER 4: ZIMMERMANNSCHES KAFFEEHAUS
Georg Philipp Telemann
PLAYLIST INCLUDED: Includes a 1hr+ playlist on Spotify, Apple Music and Youtube featuring celebratory royal brass, breathtakingly beautiful french opera and lyrical concertos by the most prolific composer in the history of music.
FOR ADDITIONAL CHILDREN’S ACTIVITIES, SEE ADD ON “LISTENING PACKETS” BELOW, WHICH INCLUDE:
-Drawing, Listening, Coloring, Journaling and Quiz Activities for Ages 3+
-Drawing Tutorial of a Rococo King Louis XV style Sofa by Florence-based artist Elisabeth Waldstein
Coloring Pages and Simple Journaling Prompts for Baroque Splendor Part I
Drawing, Journaling, Listening and Quiz Activities for Baroque Splendor Part I.
Listening, Drawing, Journaling & Quiz Activities for Ages 8+ to accompany the Musical Tapestries Listening Guide.
Coloring Pages & Simple Journaling Prompts for Ages 3-7 to accompany the Musical Tapestries Listening Guide.
Listening, Drawing, Journaling and Quiz Activities for ages 8+ to accompany the Cathedrals of Polyphony Listening Guide.
Contains coloring pages and simple journal prompts for ages 3-7 to accompany the Cathedrals of Polyphony Listening Guide.
Learn how two Baroque composers vividly capture the feeling, character and scenes of Winter! Italian violin virtuoso Antonio Vivaldi and English opera composer Henry Purcell were two of the first composers to showcase the ability of voices and instruments to illustrate particular emotions and scenes. In this 32 page download, you’ll learn about these composers and their worlds while listening closely to the masterful ways they made voices and strings tremble with cold.
Pieces highlighted: “Winter” from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons & “The Frost Scene” from Purcell’s opera King Arthur
32 Page Digital Download includes:
-Music History Readings on Antonio Vivaldi and Henry Purcell
-Listening Activities for Ages 8+
-Coloring Pages for Ages 3-7
*These are excerpts from the Classical Encounters Music Series Curriculum
Learn how Baroque music burst into vivid flame after the arrival of opera as a powerfully structured art form that soared and danced with skillful ornamentation and soulful elegance! The Baroque era was a time of exuberant innovation, expressive drama and intricate ornamentation. Churches were turned into grand theatrical spaces where music and art not only strove to capture the angelic harmonies of the angels but also the drama of the biblical stories and the triumphs and tribulations of humankind. Secular instrumental music broke free from its origins as music intended for dancing and became art enjoyed for pure, musical enjoyment, with as just as much lyrical grace, virtuosic agility and depth of expression as the finest opera singer.
Composes covered: Corelli, Couperin, Pergolesi & Vivaldi
Era: late 17th and early 18th centuries of Baroque
Includes a 1hr+ playlist of Middle Baroque Masterpieces on Youtube, Spotify and Apple Music
This is a 39 page digital download
FOR ADDITIONAL CHILDREN’S ACTIVITIES, SEE ADD ON “LISTENING PACKETS BELOW, WHICH INCLUDE:
-Listening, Journaling, Drawing and Quiz Activities for Ages 8+
-Coloring Pages for Ages 3-7
-Drawing Tutorial on the Baldacchino in Rome by Florence-based artist Elisabeth Waldstein
Treat someone you love with the gift of classical music. With a giftcard, your loved ones will experience the power & beauty of classical music with the option to buy Listening guides, Curriculums, or try out the Classical Encounters Monthly Membership.
Go inside the score of the most famous movement from Handel’s Messiah in this guide to the Hallelujah Chorus! Learn the story of how Handel wrote his most famous work and the 7 musical techniques that he used to create a majestic, stirring chorus number fit for the “King of Kings” and “Lord of Lords.” Bring the whole family together to encounter more deeply one of the most famous, joyful movements in the classical repertoire!
Experience the world’s most famous Christmas choral work through listening activities that break down the distinct, powerful musical techniques that Handel used to bring to life the story of Christ’s birth, life, death and resurrection. As you journey through scripture passages beautifully set to music, all ages will sharpen ears, grow a musical vocabulary and encounter more deeply the story of the Messiah depicted through this Baroque masterpiece.
This 54 page digital download INCLUDES:
The Story of The Messiah
Musical Tours on 8 of the most famous movements:
Overture
Comfort Ye
Every Valley
For Unto Us a Child is Born
Rejoice Greatly
He Shall Feed His Flock
Behold the Lamb of God
Hallelujah Chorus
16 Musical terms
The powerful musical techniques that Handel used to illustrate the story of the Messiah through music
Mini bio on Handel
Art Tutorial by Florence based artist Elisabeth Waldstein on Westminster Abbey, the burial site for Handel
Beautiful Coloring pages for the Littles
Listening, Journaling and Drawing Activities for Ages 8+
This is a perfect musical reflection for the Advent & Christmas season!
Customer Review:
“As an adult life-long learner who never received a proper music education, your curriculum was exactly what I was looking for. I especially loved your Christmas special featuring Handel's Messiah. After reading through your explanations I sought out a concert near me and brought your notes to the performance. You cracked the secret code of Handel's Messiah! I caught my husband leaning over to read my notes at several moments in the piece and we both agreed your insights elevated our enjoyment and understanding of the piece far past anything we could have researched ourselves.” - Megan P.
Contains journaling, listening and drawing activities to accompany the Birth of Opera Listening Guide.
This is a 47 page digital download that will be immediately delivered to your inbox. No physical product will be delivered.
Contains coloring pages, journal prompts and listening activities for ages 3-7 to accompany the “Birth of Opera” Listening Guide.
This is an 18 page digital download that will be immediately delivered to your inbox. No physical product will be delivered.
Rich immersion in each of the 6 era-specific parts of the book through a Digital Library of Learning Materials, including:
Six Playlists (Spotify, Apple Music & Youtube) for each of the six era specific parts of the course, featuring 11 hours of medieval, Renaissance & Baroque era masterpieces.
Video art tutorials on architectural pieces and decorative arts of special significance to the composers' worlds by Florence-based artist Elisabeth Waldstein.
Music Term Video Tutorials from author Sadie Hoyt.
Complete set of 95 flashcards of the key composers, music terms, and the significant pieces of art/architecture and historical events that contributed to the story of classical music.