Learning Resources
The Detroit Symphony Orchestra is proud to provide educational programming and resources that support learning for all age groups. Our Education team integrates key elements of the Common Core and National Association for Music Educators (NAfME) standards to maximize the relevance and utility of our content for students and teachers.
This page includes links to performance recordings, virtual lessons with DSO musicians, downloadable worksheets and activities, and more; always free to use. Please reach out to the Education team at ECS@dso.org for any questions about the DSO’s education programs and resources.
General Resources
All worksheets and activities created by the DSO’s Education team are housed here. There is content for all age groups, as well as content that can help integrate music into any English, science, math, or social studies classroom.
Click here to browse through our content.
The DSO YouTube channel has a host of videos useful for education, including excerpts from performances, pre-concert talks with conductors, interviews and lessons from musicians, and masterclasses with the DSO’s Civic Youth Ensembles faculty.
Click here to check out our channel.
The DSO's Pinterest has an Education Resources board full of internally and externally created content that teachers and parents can browse with their students.
Click here to see our Education Resources board.
Educational Concert Series
The DSO’s Education team creates Teacher Resources Guides to accompany each Educational Concert Series performance, with specially curated content informed by NAfME and Common Core standards. Whether you are watching at Orchestra Hall or tuning in live via our Classroom Edition webcast, using the Resource Guide can prepare your students to get the most out of their concert experience.
Explore the Guide for the next ECS performance below, as well as its companion Listening Tracks. Click here to find out more about the Educational Concert Series.
Current Guide:
Listening Tracks are available on YouTube. Links are included in the Resource Guide above.
Missed an Educational Concert Series performance or Classroom Edition webcast? Don’t worry! Recordings of previous webcasts are available to stream for free at any time at dso.org/classroom. Each concert’s accompanying guide is available below.
• 20-21, ECS 1: What Is Jazz?
• 19-20, ECS 2: Happy Birthday, Beethoven!
• 19-20, ECS 1: The New World Symphony
• 18-19, ECS 3: Look.Listen.Connect
• 18-19, ECS 2: Mozart and the Opera
• 18-19, ECS 1: The Tale of the Firebird
• 17-18, ECS 3: A Symphony of Science
• 17-18, ECS 2: Around the World in 45 Minutes
• 17-18, ECS1: Happy, Sad, Silly, Scary
• 16-17, ECS3: Music In Motion
• 15-16, ECS 1: Building the Orchestra
• 14-15, ECS 3: Musical Tales
During the COVID-19 shutdown, the DSO began curating virtual Educational Concerts from previous recordings that teachers and families could use while at home. We are pleased to continue offering free access to these webcasts through our YouTube channel in addition to our archive of past live Educational Concert Series performances. Mini-Resource Guides with lessons and activities are also listed below for each concert.
Click here to view our virtual Educational Concerts
Click here to view our live Educational Concert Series archive
• Virtual ECS 1: Storytelling through Music and Dance
• Virtual ECS 2: The Music of John Williams
• Virtual ECS 3: Let's Play!
• Virtual ECS 4: What is a Concerto?
• Virtual ECS 5: Women Composers: Justice in Music
