Educational Programs, curated by Jim Stephenson

With decades of experience as a an orchestral musician, composer, conductor, and educator, Jim Stephenson has collaborated with orchestras across the country to design engaging, impactful educational programs. His approach combines musical excellence with age-appropriate storytelling and curriculum-aligned content, making each performance both inspiring and enriching for students and families alike.

Explore the links below to discover a variety of customizable options tailored to your orchestra’s unique community and educational goals!

Complete Concerts:

Interactive, educational and entertaining shows designed to introduce children to the instruments of the symphony orchestra

Students compose their own World Premieres in these engaging introductions to the orchestra. Flexible orchestration makes these concerts available to orchestras of all sizes.

Compose Yourself! – for 4th grade and above

Curated Concerts:

Thoughtful, thematic programs ready to take your audiences on an adventure

American Salute

Pack your bags and take your young audience on a road trip around the country, visiting important historical landmarks while playing the license plate game! Get started with Gould’s rousing ‘American Salute’, and then discover America: did you know that dockworkers originally danced the Charleston, from which James P. Johnson drew his inspiration? Or that ‘Sweet Georgia Brown’ was inspired by both a GA state representative and young girl named Georgia? Along the way, discover folk songs from Arkansas, blues from Chicago, and more. But importantly, also slow down in Washington D.C., and focus on respecting our nation, drawing attention to our veterans and armed-services during an emotional rendering of TAPS.

Dance Off!

Can children rock out to dance music throughout history? Of course they Can-Can! Whether it’s a polka from the 19th century, or a Macarena from 20th, learn how composers and dance have come together to get toes tapping and arms flapping. Speaking of flappers, learn how a Charleston was written in 1920 vs. how it was written in 2020. Or, how did Tchaikovsky spin flowers in the 1880s vs. how Stephenson made a garden boogie in the 2020s.

Fall Legends

Treat your young audiences and families to a program full of delicious music. Suggestions include the traditional haunts from Berlioz to Saint-Saëns, bolstered with new spirited creations carved out by Stephenson himself. His ‘Legend of Sleepy Hollow’ (available in bite-size through large orchestrations) is sure to arouse ghoulish suspicions, while ‘Scram!’ will send them scampering away.

Imagination Wheel

Take your audience on a fantastical journey, full of magic and mystery; color and creativity. For example: what does the color blue sound like? But what if it’s “the Blues” (“…City Limits”)? Or, how does a composer channel his childhood model train set into music? Finally, what happens when you put illustrations and imagination together? Everything is possible when we’re allowed to dream: “you’ll be free, if you truly wish to be”

Space Chase: Spies and Skies

The sky’s the limit, or is it? Find out if your young audience can spy familiar favorites, whether Debussy’s moon or Williams’ stars, or, of course, Holst’s planets, stylishly trimmed down to a universally-appealing orchestration. Through the lens of a pink panther or a savvy secret service agent, your young detectives can gather intelligence on Stephenson’s own specialized gadgets for these subjects: a “Celestial Suite” based on astronomers through the years, or a “Trench Coat” for the young spies among us.