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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: MARCH 14, 2008 KSO Adds Class to Children’s Concert
Like a classroom, there were lessons and students, questions and explanations. But the setting was the Egyptian Theatre, and the instructors were the musicians of the Kishwaukee Symphony Orchestra and their conductor and music director, Linc Smelser. On Friday, March 14, 2008, hundreds of kids gathered at the Egyptian to learn about “Great Russian Masters of the 20th Century”. Annually, the Kishwaukee Symphony Orchestra invites area third, fourth and fifth graders to a spring performance through their schools, homeschool organizations and/or music teachers. They are given a child’s portion of classical music, in the hopes of whetting the appetites of future musicians and music lovers. Sycamore students from South Prairie, Southeast, North and West Elementary Schools attended the performance. Teachers, kids and chaperones also traveled from May and Lincoln Schools in Rochelle, Monroe Center Grade School and Shabbona and Waterman Elementary Schools to hear the orchestra. Nineteen buses delivered over 900 children to the event in downtown DeKalb.
The kids in the audience could relate to the introduction of Prokofiev’s “Peter and the Wolf”: a symphony that was written because the composer’s son was too lazy to read the story and was later adapted by Walt Disney. Then they were treated to KSO’s lively rendition, narrated by Mark Baldin, an area teacher, musician and voice talent. The 2008 Children’s Concert was made possible by generous grants from the Rockford Area Arts Council and the Farny R. Wurlitzer Foundation. The Kishwaukee Symphony Orchestra season is supported in part by grants from the Illinois Arts Council and the DeKalb County Community Foundation.
A dedicated company of professional, student, and amateur musicians, the Kishwaukee Symphony Orchestra is a non-profit community group that has provided a venue for local musicians to showcase their talents in an orchestral setting since 1976. For additional information call 815-756-3728 or visit the website at www.kishorchestra.org (email: KSOMgr@kishorchestra.org). Photo #1: (top left) - Kishwaukee Symphony Orchestra cellist Jeremiah Moauro introduces area students to the cello. Photo #2: (middle right) -The children in the audience were eager to try their hands at Don Walter’s violin when the musicians of the Kishwaukee Symphony Orchestra mingled with the students before their performance. Photo #3: (bottom left) - Pat Vary demonstrates the violin at the Kishwaukee Symphony Orchestra’s annual children’s concert on Friday.
The Kishwaukee Symphony Orchestra season is supported in part by grants from the Illinois Arts Council and the DeKalb County Community Foundation. For additional information and group ticket sales call 815-756-3728 or visit the website at www.kishorchestra.org (email: KSOMgr@kishorchestra.org).
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The musical pieces were shorter than those typically heard at a symphony performance and they were accompanied by interesting information about the music, the composers and their historical context. Musical terms, like “neoclassicism” and “dissonance” were explained by Linc Smelser during the course of the program.