Sigma Alpha Iota

PAN PIPES WINTER 2015 saI-NaTIONal.ORg 16 on a white wig). I began by announcing some "breaking news" from Salzburg, Austria, with the return home of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, aged 10, from his first world tour. Two of my grandchildren were involved in this dramatic presentation. My high school age granddaughter portrayed Christiane Amanpour of CNN, and my fih grade grandson played Mozart, since he was the same age. He was dressed up in a period costume and a wig. e dramatic script I created had Mozart interviewed by CNN, describing his triumphant four-year tour throughout Europe and how he astounded the kings, queens, and nobility by his magnificent playing and composing. I wanted the students to get a glimpse of the personality and musical talent of Mozart. At the end of the session, Mozart signed a copy of his K.1 Menuetto that each child had received in their four-page handout. At the end of the session, as we had done in the previous Bach session, the children were able to have their picture taken with Mozart. My granddaughter, who has had some drama experience in high school productions, assumed the character of a television reporter perfectly, and my grandson, who himself is an emerging composer, intuitively became Mozart with all the self assuredness and spritely teasing humor that Mozart possessed. I also played around with Wolfgang's nickname, Wolfy, and Wolf Blitzer's name, Wolf, in the dialogue and the parents of the children found that quite humorous. e dramatic scene engaged the 40 children and parents in attendance. It was great fun and a huge success In the end I hoped that by bringing these dead composers to life, a young child might be fascinated by what it meant to be a composer and possibly, like I did as a young boy, read some books about composers, sit down at the piano or computer, and begin to explore his or her musical imagination. Hollis oms, composer and researcher, has had a number of articles published in PAN PIPES. He has written over 100 musical works for a variety of ensembles and has over 30 published articles in educational journals. In addition to a graduate degree in educational administration and years as a teacher and school administrator, he has a Master's degree in composition from Northwestern University and finished the course work for the PhD in composition from the Eastman School of Music. He has been the recipient of a number of fellowships, including the Joseph Kingenstein Fellowship to Columbia University, the Alden B. Dow Creativity Fellowship, and was a Fulbright Exchange Teacher to Scotland and was selected to participate in the Summer Institute for Principals at Harvard University. The following is an excerpt of Holls Thoms's script introducing Mozart to new audiences. Christiane amanpour: Herr Mozart… mozart: Wolfy, please… Christiane: Wolfy, it says here that you went to many places on your tour. Let's see, in September, 1762, you started out in Vienna. mozart: …I played the violin, clavier or organ at many places and for many people, so I get all these places mixed up. Christiane: You went to Passau and played for the Bishop. You gave a concert in Linz, playing at a monastery for some friars, and then went to the great palace of Schönbrunn near Vienna to play for the Emperor…The Emperor? mozart: Yes, he called me the "little magician." Christiane: Amazing! So then you returned home briefly but because of the success of your first pilot tour you went on another tour starting in the summer of 1763. You visited all the summer palaces for the various electors, bishops, kings and queens. You went to Munich, Augsburg, Frankfurt, and many other towns, finally coming to Paris where you played for King Louis XV. Then went to London and played for King George III. My goodness! That's quite a tour! mozart: Yes, and we stayed in London for a long time…for over a year…I wrote my first symphony while I was there… Christiane: Louis XV? George III? Wow, your first symphony! Such accomplishments! And then I have in my notes that you went to the Netherlands and got very sick… mozart: So did "Horseface," I mean my sister, Nannerl and my father… Christiane: Well, I'm glad to hear you both got better. You then returned to Paris and went through many towns in Switzerland, finally arriving in Munich and then Salzburg? mozart: That is correct…And now I am home… Christiane: …November 1766…So, you were gone from Salzburg for almost four years. And you didn't go to school then? mozart: My father taught me all sorts of things, mostly about music. But I loved mathematics and numbers. I know many languages: German, French, Italian, Latin, and some English… Christiane: So, you kept yourself busy learning… mozart: …and my sister "Horseface," I mean Nannerl and I created our own "Kingdom of Back," you know an imaginary kingdom that was just our own world where we could have fun together while we travelled. Wolf Blitzer: Herr Mozart… mozart: Wolfy!!! Wolf: Wolfy… COmPOSERS AlIvE A CNN Interview With A Young Mozart "Mozart" is interviewed on CNN. COMPOSERS continued from page 15

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