GSO Young Peoples Concerts

Tara Simoncic, Associate Conductor of the Greenwich Symphony Orchestra, is Music Director and Conductor of the Young People's Concert series. These concerts are specially designed to introduce Greenwich school children to the music of the great masters and the symphony orchestra. Attending the programs are all children in grades two through seven of all public and private schools in Greenwich. These students are prepared for knowledgeable listening by their schools; music teachers, with the aid of CDs and creative classroom assignments prepared by the Greenwich Symphony Board's Young People's Concert Committee. This enrichment is made possible by contributions from parents, friends, corporations and foundations, PTA organizations, and proceeds from the Symphony Board's annual benefits. The series received the CT Alliance for Arts Education's 2001 Award for ''Outstanding Community Arts Program.'' Performances are during school hours in the Greenwich High School Auditorium. Limited seating is available for interested persons. For further information, please call the Symphony office at (203) 869-2664

''Witches, Goblins, and Music'' October 13, 2011 (grades 4-5)
Classical music can be very scary! With Halloween only a few weeks away from the season's first program, we've brewed up a fine collection of frightening, devilish pieces of music. Creepy, crawly scales, sinister rumblings, and sudden, loud crashes will fill the auditorium. The audience will not be left out. The program will end with a parade of children wearing masks of their own making (selected by lottery). A ghoulish, but fun celebration!

''America Swings'' February 22, 2012 (grades 6-7)
During the 20th century, American composers finally established themselves as equal peers of their European counterparts. Top level music conservatories now existed in the U.S., and young composers were honing their skills in the great musical capitals of Europe as well. Much credit for this elevation of American composers in the eyes of the world must go to Aaron Copland, George Gershwin and Leonard Bernstein. Having mastered their craft, they imprinted on their music the undeniable American stamp. Copland captured the American landscape; Bernstein epitomizes America's drive and swing; Gershwin infuses his scores with the jazz and blues rhythms of our African-American culture, which are now incorporated into musical styles all over the world. Come celebrate three great American composers!

''Wolf and Peter'' April 23, 2012 (grades 2-3)
This program focuses on two happy-go-lucky fellows, one real and one imaginary! No one loved mischief and fun more than Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – his compositions are a testimony of this. In this program, the orchestra will perform the famous first movement of his most well-known serenade, Eine kleine Nachtmusik. The GSO will be joined by four talented young string players chosen from Greenwich schools, two violinists, a violist, and a cellist. They will sit next to the principal string players of the orchestra for the performance. The imaginary fellow in this program, Peter, encounters a very different ''wolf!'' Prokofiev must have had a mischievous side also with the wily clarinet/cat, the soaring flute/bird, and the quacking oboe/duck, which, in spite of video games and iPhones, young people continue to fall in love with!