SCHOOL OF CONTINUING STUDIES PRESENTS CLASS ON SYMPHONY

The beauty and eloquence of classical music performed by a symphony orchestra can be a pleasure for a lifetime. In this introductory class, musicologist Nancy Gisbrecht Bailey will explain what constitutes classical music, provide an overview of its major stylistic periods, and discuss the instruments of the symphony orchestra. Guest speakers will include instrumentalists from the Shepherd School of Music as well as a vocal soloist and member of the conducting staff from the Houston Symphony. Each class will include illustrations from a variety of recordings.

Note: Participants will be given one pass for an open rehearsal of the Houston Symphony. Discount tickets for Houston Symphony performances on November 7 and 21 will be available for purchase in class.

Eight Wednesdays, September 29-November 17, 7:00-8:30 p.m. Fee $141. Discount fee for multiple registrations: $131. Fee for Rice alumni: $121

Topics will include the following:

• Creation of the Orchestra. The role of the conductor.
• Instruments of the Orchestra
• Performing With the Orchestra. Soloists and their relationship to the orchestra.
• Early Music for Instrumental Groups. Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons.
• The Classical Period Symphony Orchestra. Mozart and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7.
• Romanticism and the Orchestra of the Early Nineteenth Century. Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony.
• Expansive Changes in the Late Nineteenth Century. Mahler’s Das klagende Lied.

For more information about this course or other course offerings please visit the School of Continuing Studies. Nancy Gisbrecht Bailey is Lecturer in Vocal Literature for the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University. She specializes in music of the late nineteenth century and lectures for the Houston Symphony and other venues throughout the Houston area. She has taught music appreciation for Continuing Studies since 1984. Dr. Bailey holds an M.A. and a Ph.D. in musicology from the University of Southern California.