Reference, Special Needs

Illustrations and clear explanations of the science of sounds.

How they are made and the history of pan drums.

Classic texts on music and nature and a CD of natural sounds.

Did you know you can "see" with sound?—an intro to bioacoustics and the music of nature for ages 9 and up.

Shaping Music Education from a Global Perspective by Huib Schippers.

Finding the Origins of Music in the World's Wild Places by Bernie Krause.

by David Hendy.

A Symphony of the Human Spirit.  Award-winning documentary of a Paraguayan village built on a landfill, and the man who built instruments from the garbage and began The Recycled Orchestra.

The American Boy choir made a trip to Terezin Concentration Camp to learn about a work they perform using texts from the children in the camp. 20 years later they return and are reunited with the survivors they met earlier.

This PBS film explores the science and emotions involved with our sense of hearing, and some of the many ways we use sound.

Based on the inspiring true story of a Chinese peasant who beats the odds to become a world renowned ballet dancer. 

The riveting story of the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra during the time of Hitler.

Pianist Lang Lang in solo, chamber and orchestral performance of Chinese classics, with behind-the-scenes footage and interviews.

When the time came for revolt to gain independence from the weight of the Iron Curtain, song became the Estonians' vehicle for free speech, uniting them in a soaring and daring anthem of independence. Inspiring, gripping, and true.

A stirring, live gospel performance by 60 exuberant children that benefited childhoood victims of AIDS in Africa.

Extended version of Christopher Nupen's award winning documentary about freedom, survival and the extraordinary place of music in the Nazi concentration camps. 

Kurt Gerron, German war hero and well-loved Jewish actor, singer and director in the 1930's was sent to Terezin camp and forced to direct a propaganda film for his Nazi captors.  Also see the story behind Terezin camp.

Explore the phenomena of sound. Why are some sounds musical and others only noise?