Orfeo Alliance Artist-in-Residence: Rob Levit
Renowned musician and community leader Rob Levit spent a week in November as Key’s Orfeo Alliance Artist-in-Residence. In partnership with the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra, Mr. Levit presented an array of arts activities that addressed the concept of recycling with students in Key’s fifth and sixth grades. Using Brahms' Variations on a Theme by Haydn, Op. 56a and 56b, Mr. Levit shared with students how composers recycle musical material of the past to create new and innovative compositions. Students painted abstract shapes and designs based on works by artist Wassily Kandinsky that were then performed as musical compositions on the Orff instruments. They also wrote and recited poetry based on the variations in Brahms' music and created graphic scores to represent the melody, harmony, rhythm, and texture of the music being performed and studied. Reflecting on his week, Mr. Levit said, "The students at Key School readily dove into some abstract concepts like painting to music and then performing the painting. That's a difficult assignment unless you are already well-versed in creative thinking, the musical process and teamwork."
