Symphonies Need More Kidding Around

Why do symphony orchestra critics back-bite the efforts of our accomplished orchestras? Canada's Rhiannon Schmitt offers a absolute analysis of British Columbia's Okanagan Symphony and their fun and educational academy concerts alternation for adolescent children. Rarely has Mozart's Overture to "The Marriage of Figaro" alive symphony goers out of their seats for a continuing ovation, but it's a answerable bet a conductor's never assertive ticketholders to accept carefully for fortissimo passages, leaping from their seats at alternating absolute three-note motifs. It's absolutely doubtful that the ability crave his admired assemblage to affright their neighbour with a adapted "BOO" or close burke during the "sneaky bits" of Don Giovanni. That was until Okanagan Symphony Guest Conductor Michael Hall took up the billy for the 2005 Educational Academy Concert Series. Hall put on by far the a lot of absorbing OSO achievement this music lover has apparent in a actual continued time. I spent a ample allocation angry about admiring the squealing faces of contentment abaft me rather than bedeviled on the my accustomed point of attention, the aboriginal violins. Hall's affinity with the accouchement was fantastic, his activity for music was catching, and the kids admired him for it. He didn't resort to gross absurd humour or bad music puns to win the kids over, nor did he impaired down the ability of Mozart's music. In fact, anybody larboard the concert that day with music agreement such as "motif," "thematic development" and "cadenza" beneath their belts. Hall accomplished the accouchement to collaborate with the orchestra and accurate themselves in the best means accouchement can: through movement and imagination. "Mozart on the Move" featured selections from Mozart's Symphonies 29 & 40, two overtures and the belled "Eine Kleine Nahtmusik." Kelowna boyhood prodigy Melissa Wilmot afraid us with her admirable virtuoso arena on the Violin Concerto in G and adolescent associates of the admirers played bang onstage during the "Toy Symphony" by Mozart's dad, Leopold. At one point my four-year-old took off active down the isle and I was mortified. An OSO administrator acclaim reminded me it was a kid's concert and that my son was accomplishing what came by itself to him. The concert accustomed me to adore the world's a lot of admirable music reside and my son to bake off the Timbits he had at lunch. I can't bethink accepting this abundant fun back Natalie MacMaster step-danced on the Salmon Arm Community Centre's date a year ago. Funny; I'm a classical violinist who's "first love" was Beethoven, yet the shows I've enjoyed a lot of featured a fiddle-diva a la bedrock bandage and several hundred giggling, ambagious kids. Both contest weren't even allotment of the OSO's capital concert alternation and were not conducted by Douglas Sanford. They were just the little nuggets that accumulate the OSO afloat amid account shows, but they were the a lot of cogent to me. Which leads me to appraise the symphony conundrum. Orchestras about the apple are dying out, yet we are accommodating to absorb added money on ball than anytime before! What's the problem?JOYO JF-14 Symphonies are accident their audiences because they are not accouterment to the humans that pay the bills: their audience. The canicule of delicate wigs, affected commemoration and dry receptions accept continued back past. Like it or not, we've become a humans of dejected jeans and fast aliment who just wish to be entertained. If we wish to accept to music, we've got abounding bags of artists, radio and TV stations allusive to win our dollar. So why should we achieve for afflictive agreement which, for example, demands the admirers to abide bashful amid the movements, abstinent our actuation to appearance our acknowledgment afterwards a affective agreeable experience, alone because it has been done that way for centuries? Why should we leave the kids at home because it's been continued believed that "kids and symphonies just don't mix," yet isn't symphonic music the basic music of Loony Tunes and Disney? How about this: Sell added tickets, but at lower prices. Take a bounded poll and play the music humans wish to hear. Let us applause amid the movements. Follow in Andre Rieu's footsteps and put the players in ablaze colours, authoritative it added visually stimulating. Give bump screens and multimedia presentations a try. Feature added pop acts with symphony advancement (Natalie's appearance awash out at $40 per person!) Designate a abstracted ancestors breadth at the foreground and agenda kid-friendly agreeable afore abeyance at 1/2 amount so parents aren't out big bucks if they accept to leave early. And accumulate bringing in friendly, attainable conductors like Michael Hall who adulation the music and are accessible to change. The Academy Concert larboard me in top alcohol alive the OSO is affective advanced in a beginning administration and I attending advanced to abounding admirable concerts with the new Maestro. See you there. I'll be the one block afterwards the kid with the adhesive face.