Contact:Gretchen Miller Basso
Public Relations Director
The Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra
Phone: 407/896-6700 x 223
Fax: 407/896-5512
gmiller@orlandophil.org
www.orlandophil.org
(Orlando, FL – July 13, 2011) – The Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra’s popular Young People’s Concerts will be performed this fall beginning October 3 through November 8 at the Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre. Designed to provide a broad performing arts experience to students, the Philharmonic’s Young People’s Concerts involve three artistic disciplines: orchestra, opera, and ballet, showcasing all three in one program. These concerts are, for many students, their first exposure to a concert of a classical nature.
Twenty one performances are scheduled at the Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre for children, grades 3 – 5, in the Orange County School District.
Five additional concerts will be performed at the Bob Carr for home and private school students. These concerts are held on Wednesday, October 12 at 10:30 AM and at 12:00 PM; Wednesday, October 26 at 10:30 AM and 12:00 PM; and Monday, November 7 at 12:00 PM. Tickets for the performances for home and private school children are $6 each and can be purchased by phone at 407-896-6700 x 240. Teachers and chaperones may also purchase tickets for $6.
The Orlando Philharmonic invites students to explore American Visions through the musical images created by American composers, and learn about what makes a musical composition American. The Young People’s Concerts feature the music of two living American composers as well as 19th and 20th century works that are classics of the concert hall and popular culture.
Students will hear how composer/conductor Leonard Bernstein blends operatic and classical styles into a Broadway hit. The audience will sing with the orchestra, and hear how Aaron Copland turned a simple folk hymn into an orchestral ballet. The influence of African Americans will be heard in the music of jazz legend Louis Armstrong. The concert includes the music of Cuban composer Ernesto Lecuona as arranged for orchestra by Ferde Grofe. Singers will perform selections from a 21st century opera that was inspired by the journey of explorers Lewis and Clark, and students can read an online blog about opera by composer Michael Ching. An exciting feature of the Young People’s Concerts is the preview performance of a movement from a new work by composer Adolphus Hailstork, which combines narration and orchestral music to celebrate the legacy of Central Floridian Zora Neale Hurston. Dancers from Orlando Ballet join the orchestra on stage as they dance a rousing finale to John Philip Sousa’s Stars and Stripes. Students will hear and see America through a new musical vision.
Contributing to the overall educational experience of the performances is the dissemination of a packet of educational materials to the teachers one month in advance of the concerts. Materials include the concert program and the composer information, a CD of the music in the program, program notes and active listening experiences, lessons about the orchestra, the instruments, and the role of the participants – including the audience, master pages for teacher transparencies and handouts, additional teaching experiences, information on artistic collaborators, curriculum connections, resources and references.
The Orlando Philharmonic believes that exposure to the arts at an early age is crucial to the overall development of the child. Without these concerts, most students would have little or no exposure to symphonic music, opera or ballet. The excitement generated by a live performance, which includes instruments, voice and dance, provides a unique experience that only a locally based orchestra can provide.
The Philharmonic is proud of this valuable community service and looks forward to providing these services each year and for many years to come.
For further information on the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra and its Young People’s Concerts, or to reserve spaces for home or private school students for a performance, phone 407-896-6700 x 240 or visit our web site at www.orlandophil.org.
