2020-21 Season Update: The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra has cancelled all in-person Schooltime concerts for the 2020-21 season. For the most up to date information regarding the 2020-21 season, please visit our COVID-19 information page.
Join the Pittsburgh Symphony for free online concerts that introduce elementary students to the orchestra and nurture a love of music! Virtual Schooltime is available to all PreK-12 educators to use with their students during both in-person instruction and remote learning. Registration is required to access Virtual Schooltime concerts and additional resources.
Available January 19, 2021 – February 17, 2021
Musical Storytelling
Designed for grades PreK-1
Essential Question: How does music help to tell a story?
Vocalist Katy Williams will narrate Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant, a whimsical collection of poems by Children’s Poet Laureate Jack Prelutsky with illustrations by Carin Berger. Music composed and arranged by Lucas Richman.
Available February 16, 2021 – March 17, 2021
Musical Storytelling
Designed for grades PreK-1
Essential Question: How does music help to tell a story?
Ayisha Morgan-Lee, founder and CEO of Pittsburgh’s Hill Dance Academy Theatre, will read Misty Copeland’s new book Bunheads, which tells the story of a young Misty—who went on to become the first African American Female Principal Dancer with American Ballet Theatre—and her early experiences with ballet.
Available March 1, 2021 – March 30, 2021
Designed for grades 1-3
Essential Question: How do different instruments make sound?
Explore each instrument family of the orchestra through a series of chamber performances, demonstrations, and interviews with individual PSO musicians. The unit includes newly recorded performance footage and curated excerpts from Front Row: The PSO Virtual Experience that together illuminate the unique characteristics and sound production of the many instruments that make up a symphony orchestra.
Available April 12, 2021 – May 11, 2021
Designed for grades 4-6
Essential Question: How is music created?
A multifaceted look at the creative process by which instrumental music is composed, this unit features performances of historic compositions and works by living composers, details about the composition process, composer interviews, and insight from PSO musicians about the experience of preparing a new piece of music for its premiere.
