San Francisco Symphony

“The Fund is committed to ensuring that members of our community have access to and benefit from the Bay Area’s extraordinary cultural and civic assets,” says Fund president Ira Hirschfield. “ We believe Keeping Score provides those who have not had many encounters with music in a concert hall a real opportunity to develop an understanding and passion for classical music—passion that Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony bring to every performance.”

With a $10 million challenge grant from the Haas, Jr. Fund, the San Francisco Symphony embarked on an ambitious multiyear, multimedia project called Keeping Score.

Now entering its second season, Keeping Score is built around a PBS television series that explores the music and stories of key composers. The series features the San Francisco Symphony and is hosted by SFS Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas.

In addition to the TV series, Keeping Score provides people of all ages and all musical backgrounds with a variety of fun and engaging ways to learn more about classical music via the web, public radio, and an education program that offers training, materials and support to K-12 teachers across the nation.

“Classical music is a doorway to discovering more about ourselves and our world. Keeping Score provides an important opportunity for all people to learn to love classical music and find a place for it in their lives,” said the Fund’s president, Ira Hirschfield.

Keeping Score Elements

• The TV Series. The Keeping Score series began airing nationally on PBS stations in November 2006. The first season, Keeping Score: Revolutions in Music, explored the music of Beethoven, Stravinsky and Copland in three one-hour programs that looked at how and why these composers were able to write such remarkable, revolutionary works. The second season, focusing on the work of Berlioz, Shostakovich and Ives, will air on PBS starting October 15, 2009.

• The Radio Series. Keeping Score also is producing a radio series that will debut in the winter of 2009-2010. In 13 episodes, the series will explore composers, compositions or musical movements that changed the way people heard, or thought about, music. The series is hosted by musician Suzanne Vega with Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony.

• On the Web. The Keeping Score Web site offers an array of interactive learning tools to help students and other users learn more about the music and lives of the composers featured in the TV series. A Web site just for children introduces them to key musical concepts such as tempo and rhythm and offers fun ways for young composers and performers to draw out their inner Beethoven.

• The Education Program. The Keeping Score Education program trains teachers in K-12 classrooms to integrate classical music into core subjects such as science, math and history. Participating teachers receive training by San Francisco Symphony musicians and educational staff and a variety of arts educators. The Keeping Score Education program is working with partner sites in Fresno, Sonoma and Santa Clara counties; Flagstaff, Arizona; and the Oklahoma A+ Network statewide program. An integral part of the program is the annual Keeping Score Summer Teacher Institute, a multi-faceted professional development experience that builds teachers’ understanding of both music and integrated curriculum design.

For more information on the program, go to www.keepingscore.org