Listening Lesson: 'One-Dog Canoe'

1. First, listen to One-Dog Canoe by composer Daniel Nass.

LISTEN — One-Dog Canoe
Daniel Nass
Musicians from the Minnesota Orchestra; Katie Condon, narrator

The musical composition One-Dog Canoe was commissioned by FRIENDS of the Minnesota Orchestra in 2019 on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of its Kinder Konzert programs and is dedicated to Ara, founder of Kinder Konzerts, and Rod Burwell.

2. Recreate the story with an art project. Print out this activity book to extend the experience and reinforce lessons and concepts in the music. The instructions on the booklet will tell you exactly what to do.

3. Meet the performers

4. Meet the composer

"Hi. My name is Daniel Nass, and I am the composer of One-Dog Canoe. I've been writing music for about 25 years. One of the ways I choose to get inspired to compose is to spend time in nature, which was a perfect way to prepare for this work. While I didn't actually find any beavers, loons, bears, wolves, moose, or even frogs during my time researching in the outdoors (I had to go online to learn more about those animals), it did put me in the right mindset to compose. I had a great time working with this wonderful book and writing this piece!"

Read more about the composition of this piece here and here.

Listen to more of Daniel Nass' music here.

5. Find out more about the original One-Dog Canoe book by Mary Casanova.

Learn about FRIENDS of the Minnesota Orchestra