David Ludwig, VSO New Music Advisor Outreach

The VSO's SymphonyKids Educational Outreach programs offer a wide array of options for in-school visits and field trips.

David Ludwig, composer and VSO New Music Advisor, loves working with kids, and has done tons of mentoring with the Vermont MIDI Project.  We have a grant to bring him around to schools, so there is only a $25 booking fee for his visits.  David has a variety of presentations, from talks to workshops, that can be tailored to pretty much any age group and level of musical background.

For elementary age students, he does a presentation called “Compose Yourself” that involves a composing game where kids get to instantly compose music using drawings, and hear it played back.  This has worked really well in the past for all classroom levels and abilities.  He can do it by himself if there is a piano available; even better is to have a couple instrumentalists (could be high schoolers) with him. Betsy Green at Champlain Elementary said “It was a GREAT experience!”  One class; 45 minutes to an hour.

What has been very successful at middle schools is a presentation called “Listen Up!,” where David plays parts of his compositions as well as a wide variety of contemporary music and fields questions about life as a composer. One class; 45 minutes to an hour.

For high school students, he can work with A.P. theory students who are doing composing, or band/chorus students.  Smaller groups are preferable so they get individual attention.  Sandi MacLeod of the Vermont MIDI Project says, “David is very comfortable working with kids who are writing pop stuff as well as more traditional genres.  He’ll look at any kind of composition and provide feedback.  Even non-composers who are musicians will enjoy a session with him.”  Joshua Stumpff from Randolph UHS wrote us, “Thank you for sending David our way.  He was professional, funny, and deeply insightful into his craft. An absolute pleasure for all of us.”  Recently, David has been supplementing these visits with follow-up video conference sessions to help composing students take their craft to the next level. One hour plus.

Also on the high school level, David has had great success working with English classes.  He talks about setting text, giving examples from his own choral writing, and the myriad connections that exist between language and music.  (He has written a piece called Haiku Catharsis!)  Students have a chance to do a creative writing exercise inspired by musical selections.

For college students, he can speak to a music appreciation class about his own compositions and new music in general, or work with composition/theory students on current projects.  He can discuss (and make fascinating) electronic music, music notation software, and film-scoring, as well. Lois Price from Champlain College wrote, “He made the class come alive!”

Karola Troidl is a forward thinking music teacher at the Tuttle Middle School in South Burlington. She uses technology in the classroom to teach music composition in a clear and accessible way to her students. David visited her class last year and worked individually with these students on their projects and talked about composing with them. Here is a video Karola made showing the great results she had with her class.



If you’re interested in booking a visit with David Ludwig, e-mail Eleanor Long or call (800) VSO-9293 x 14.