A back-to-school playlist for students of all ages

As autumn approaches, it’s time for the annual ritual known the world over: heading back to school. Whether you’re a student aged 6 or 60, the process goes more smoothly with a song — or a segment of symphonic music.

To that end, the following playlist consists of selections that aid the act of studying or just mere contemplation. Included are works by artists recently featured on CSO for Kids series, such as children’s singer-songwriter Justin Roberts, Mead Composer-in-Residence Jessie Montgomery, and conductor Scott Speck.

Also represented is composer Mason Bates, whose Philharmonia Fantastique: The Making of the Orchestra, a 25-minute concerto set to an animated film, is making a return engagement. The film, directed by Oscar winner Gary Rydstrom and with animation by Jim Copabianco, was released in theaters and is on streaming platforms. The soundtrack, which features the CSO, was released in 2022 by Sony Classical. 

Rounding out the playlist are selections representing artists on recent seasons of Symphony Center Presents series: Kurt Elling, Pink Martini and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis (and with an assist from “Today” co-host Hoda Kotb).

Plus, there’s a nod to perhaps the most “scholastic” work of all time. Brahms’ Academic Festival Overture, performed here by the CSO under Sir Georg Solti. Composed as a tribute to the University of Breslau after it awarded him an honorary degree, the Academic Festival Overture is anything but a serious, solemn tribute to education. A century later, echoing that work’s antic spirit, Elmer Bernstein borrowed from Brahms in his opening music to “National Lampoon’s Animal House” (1978). The composer most likely would have been pleased.