Contact: Allison Griffin
Public Relations Associate
503-416-6347
agriffin@orsymphony.org
Images available on request
October 13, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Portland, Ore. … Kinderkonzerts, the popular ensemble-based series which provide an interactive first Oregon Symphony experience for children in kindergarten through second grade, begins its annual four-concert series on Nov. 15, 16 and 17 at 8:30, 9:30 and 10:30 a.m. at three Portland-area elementary schools. The 30-minute concerts, at Peter Boscow Elementary in Hillsboro, Peninsula Elementary in north Portland and Lent Elementary in southeast Portland, feature selected members of the Oregon Symphony who will introduce kids to the different instrument families in a series of four concerts, each focusing on a specific section of the orchestra. The first set of 30-minute concerts, “If You’re Happy And You Know It,” explores the many different moods of music with members of the Symphony’s string quartet.
“Exposure to arts programs at a young age is an essential component of early childhood education,” said Director of Education and Community Engagement Emilia Smith. “By introducing kids to these programs early, we can offer them an experience that has a lasting influence.”
The Kinderkonzerts series is tailored to provide young students with a first-time Symphony music experience in an age-appropriate format. Bringing the Symphony musicians and instruments to the students and performing on site with small ensembles of instrument families rather than the full orchestra provides a more intimate, less overwhelming learning experience.
The schools chosen for the Kinderkonzerts series were selected to serve diverse geographical and economic populations. The schools are also supportive of the program and are committed to maintaining an arts curriculum in their regular school classes.
The performance will feature Symphony violinists Shin Young Kwon and Sarah Roth, violist Charles Noble, cellist Heather Blackburn and bassist Jason Schooler along with narrator Amy Haroldson, in a program exploring musical concepts through both new and traditional children’s songs and string-ensemble repertoire.
Last year the Kinderkonzerts series reached over 9,000 students from 52 different schools in three counties around the Portland metro area. A free ticket initiative for children on the federal free and reduced school lunch program, implemented two years ago, allowed 52 percent of the students who attended Kinderkonzerts last season to do so at no charge; chaperones are also admitted free. The free ticket program reflects the Education and Community Engagement department’s basic philosophy: to remove the economic and perceptual barriers that may exist regarding classical music and the Symphony by offering a specially-designed program with built-in support materials so that regular classroom teachers and parents can use these concepts and connections in their own classrooms and at home.
Tickets are $2 per student and are free to students in the federal free and reduced lunch program. Children in grades K-2 are welcome to attend these concerts. Daycare programs and homeschoolers at that age level are encouraged to attend as well. For more information about Kinderkonzerts, or to register for a concert, contact the Symphony’s department of Education and Community Engagement at 503-228-4294, by email at educate@orsymphony.org, or visit the Symphony’s Web site at www.orsymphony.org.
The Kinderkonzerts series is sponsored by the Anne Berni Foundation, Boeing, Irwin Foundation and Herbert Templeton Foundation.