Elementary School Programs
Education Concerts
What Makes Music, Music?
Our concert for grades 3-5 explores core musical concepts through a wide range of cultures and composers.
For the 2025/26 school year, new concerts and curriculum-aligned material for elementary students have been supported by lead education sustainers including Truist, the Bastian Family Charitable Foundation, and the John William Pope Foundation.
We are grateful to our music education supporters for their dedication to the importance of the arts in the lives of young people.
Please visit this page or the Education Concerts page for updates on our 2026/27 Education Concerts.
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Teacher Workshop
Music educators are invited to a free workshop to explore curriculum-aligned materials created by North Carolina educators around the state with lessons for the Symphony’s Education concerts—you can register now to attend the in-person event and get access to the online version throughout the school year.
Registration is open now for our 2026/27 Teacher Workshop—please plan to join us in August for an in-person workshops in New Bern or Raleigh.
Ensembles in the Schools
Through the Ensembles in the Schools program, the North Carolina Symphony creates intimate learning experiences for students with a wind quintet and a string quartet.
The ensembles, comprised of North Carolina Symphony musicians, give an interactive performance that reinforces the fundamentals of music and demonstrates the teamwork involved in music making.
NCS education staff and musicians work collaboratively with classroom teachers to create a program that is entertaining and supports North Carolina curriculum guidelines.
These programs are often supported by local foundations and are offered to schools and students unable to attend one of our education concerts during the year. For more information, contact education@ncsymphony.org.
Meet the Instruments
Through our Meet the Instruments! series, sponsored by MetLife Foundation and Puffin Foundation West, Ltd., students can get to know the many instruments that make up a symphony orchestra, introduced by North Carolina Symphony musicians.
Contact
For more information about any of these programs, please contact the Education department at education@ncsymphony.org.