Teacher Resources: Youth Concerts

Click HERE to be connected to the DSO Youth Concert Online Reservation Form.

•  31,803 students and teachers attended a Youth Concert in 2008-2009.
• Under the Special Students at the Symphony Program, 120 handicapped students received free admission to concerts.
• 36 school districts and 548 public, private and home schools were served by the DSO's Youth Concerts.
• 75 elementary schools from the Dallas ISD attended.
• Over 3,000 students arrive on their buses/cars, are ushered into the Meyerson, ushered to their seats by volunteers, see a Youth Concert performance and are directed back to their vehicles every Youth Concert performance day (2 concerts on each day) within a span of 3 hours.

The Dallas Symphony Orchestra's Cecil and Ida Green Youth Concerts continue a tradition dating back to the early decades of the 20th Century. Designed to be educational field trips that provide students with a positive introduction to the symphony orchestra, Youth Concerts take place on weekday mornings at the Meyerson Symphony Center, and typically serve over 30,000 students a year in grades pre-kindergarten through six from the North Texas region. Tickets to a Youth Concert cost $6 per person ($8 for Dallas ISD, which includes bus transportation) and free admission is provided for Special Needs students.

Prior to the concerts, teachers receive preparatory materials in a Teacher's Guide with suggested pre- and post-concert classroom activities that relate concert subjects to state mandated curriculum. These lesson plans and other resources are available on the teacher resource page.

During the 45-minute length concerts, music and narration introduce children to the orchestra while also providing connections back to the classroom. Past programs have combined classroom and concert hall by such varied methods as introducing the concept of descriptive music while focusing on weather, exploring nationalism in music through Texas history, and mixing a science lesson on acoustics with great repertoire by Holst, Tchaikovsky, Bernstein, and Beethoven.