VCO EDUCATION PROGRAMS
Local, State, and National Educational Television Outreach
The VCO has always been dedicated to the mission of sharing fine music with the broadest possible audience, focusing especially on students of all ages. Founding VCO members toured by bus to areas of the Commonwealth where orchestral concerts were seldom or never offered. Since 1998 the orchestra has taken the lead among all area arts organizations in reaching millions of young listeners nationwide by “touring” electronically via satellite-delivered educational television programs.
The orchestra was honored to be the first musical organization partnering with the Fairfax Network, the nation’s leading provider of high quality educational television programming for grades k-12. Other distinguished Fairfax Network collaborators include NASA and the Smithsonian Institution, to name just two. George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate collaborated with the VCO and the Fairfax Network for History Notes: Music in Washington’s World in April 2010.
Streaming Video Programs
Free streaming videos of educational programs are available around the clock on the website for students in public schools (grades 4-12) and colleges as well as Internet users of all ages, originally suggested by The Capitol Connection at George Mason University. The videos are enhanced with both study guides and lesson plans created by outstanding instructors from the Fairfax County, Arlington and Alexandria Public Schools. They relate the programs to the Virginia and National Standards of Learning. The VCO is honored that the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) has begun posting the lesson plans and drawing the attention of their members to the streaming video programs.