Mission Basilica School and the Pacific Symphony – A Class Act!

How can the complicated musical pattern of Mozart’s Turkish Rondo be explained with Legos?  What classic tale was the inspiration for Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story? Ask an MBS student…they’ll know!

About Class Act at Mission Basilica School

Since 1994, the Pacific Symphony has supported and enhanced music education for Orange County students through the Class Act Program. Percentage-wise, the Pacific Symphony spends more of its budget on youth education than any other symphony in the country! Over $600,000 is raised and is spent on 35 OC schools every year.  We are lucky enough to be one of them!

What Does Class Act Consist Of?

Our Class Act year begins with the “Prelude” Assembly where our “composer of the year” is announced.  The Symphony provides a professional actor/storyteller, backdrops depicting the life of our composer, and our Class Act Musician (a professional musician from the Pacific Symphony). They engage the students in an interesting presentation on our composer’s life story and music. The students also learn a bit about each musician’s instrument.

Now, behind the scenes: Professional educators and musicians from the Symphony spend many hours developing curricular materials and ideas that foster high-quality classroom instruction. Our teachers then attend a Teacher Workshop where they learn how to integrate information about the year’s composer and music into their own classrooms.

Our wonderful teachers then hit the road running!  Our kids have played dodge ball to the sound of Stravinsky, learned about Mozart’s life as a “child star”,  produced “silhouette” portraits popular in the 18th century, and compared/contrasted Stravinsky’s and Tchaikovsky’s versions of “Romeo and Juliet”… among other things!

Then, over the next few months, our Class Act Musician visits each class K through 8 and gives a 30 to 45 minute lesson.  The focus there is to give the students the opportunity to hear/learn about an instrument close-up.  They also learn much more about our composer of the year and the type, style and structure of his music.

In the Spring, we wind up the Class Act year with three wonderful events:  First, a quintet of musicians from the Symphony serenades us (for free!) in the Basilica at our Family Night.  They present a 45-minute program of music geared towards our young audience.

Second, our PE and music teachers skillfully coordinate the “Bravo Assembly” where our students perform to the music of our composer of the year for the entertainment of our Pacific Symphony liasons the many parents who attend.

Finally, The Pacific Symphony provides a culminating event in two forms:

1. Students in K-1 participate in an “Interactive Musical Experience”! This is a hands-on, kinesthetic learning experience tailored to this age-group and provided on-site.
2. Students in grades 2-7 get the opportunity to attend a concert at Segerstrom Hall given by the entire Pacific Symphony.  Listening to live performances is a key element in fostering a life-long appreciation of music.  Though i-pods and CDs are wonderful, the interaction of artist with audience is what creates those transcendent moments in music.  That’s why the Pacific Symphony goes to the trouble and expense of providing these concerts for so many young people each year.

Who Provides Class Act?

Currently, the Pacific Symphony requests that MBS pay a small percentage of what it costs to bring this wonderful program to our students. That fee is included in our tuition. Our Parents’ Club generously provides for the buses to take the students to their Youth Concert at Segerstrom Concert Hall.

To be eligible to remain a “Class Act” school, however, we are expected to provide a high level of commitment from administration, teachers and parents. This includes providing ten volunteer ushers to work the Youth Concert at Segerstrom. Commitment to Class Act has never been a problem for the MBS community and we look forward to participating in this partnership for years to come!