Symphony Ensemble Up Close and Personal

We took the girls out for a cultural experience. The local symphony held a family, educational concert. There were four different ensembles featuring each of the major groups of instruments: strings, woodwinds, brass and percussion. They taught in an entertaining way using jokes, short songs and audience participation. At times this was a bit corny, even for me which says a lot. For example the string ensemble dressed up as the Stradivarius family and competed in "Italian Idol".

Before the concert there were different activity stations such as "instrument petting zoo" and make your own "shaker". Anna's teachers from Kindermusik put up a booth. Our favorite instruments? Julia: the violin and trumpet. Eva: oboe. Me: basoon. Anna: violin.

The last group was the percussion ensemble. They were all dressed in black and called themselves "Men in Black IV". My favorite number was a Brazilian samba tune that we all got to play along with using our little homemade shaker instruments.

The event was in a beautifully restored Art Deco theater built in 1931. It was the first air-conditioned building in town. I was happy to see that the place was completely packed with people even standing in the back. Maybe parents like us had nothing else to do on a cold afternoon with their kids or maybe they all love music.

We finished our outing by getting some cookies and hot chocolate at the local bakery/cafe. Good times!