October 31, 2002
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Portland, Ore. … The Kinderkonzerts series, designed for kids in kindergarten through second grade, continues its tour of the orchestra’s families of instruments with a visit to the percussion section in “Oh! The Sounds We Make,” presented by the Oregon Symphony Education and Community Programs Department. This concert, the second in a four-part series, follows last month’s survey of the string section, “Opposites.” The full series features 36 separate performances hosted by selected members of the Oregon Symphony, who will introduce kids to the various instrument families in a cycle of four concerts, each focusing on a different section of the orchestra. “Oh! The Sounds We Make,” narrated by Amy Haroldson, is a group of nine 30-minute concerts that will take place at three Portland-area elementary schools on Tuesday, Dec. 3, Wednesday, Dec. 4 and Wednesday, Dec.11.
This year’s expansion of the initial pilot program will allow the Symphony to reach more than 12,000 students in the Portland Metro area. The idea for Kinderkonzerts grew out of the Symphony's Artsvision plan, which recommended age-specific programming. The 2000 Artsvision evaluation, which included focus groups all over Portland to determine how the city’s students interacted with orchestral music, helped decide the location for Kinderkonzerts. Lent Elementary was a RACC Artsplan partner with the Oregon Symphony, while Peninsula Elementary was selected to further cement ties between the summer “Oregon Symphony in the Neighborhoods” concerts and the north Portland area. The inclusion of McKay Elementary allows the Symphony to bring its educational programs into Washington County.
“Oh! The Sounds We Make” will feature Symphony percussionist Chris Perry and other members of the Symphony’s percussion section, who will demonstrate a wide variety of instruments including timpani, cymbals, bells, tom-toms xylophone, bells, gong, woodblocks, slide whistle, duck quacker, cowbell and cricket sound maker. The musicians will highlight specific instruments with solo and small ensemble demonstrations and will also perform well-known children’s songs including “Winnie the Pooh” and “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.”
“Oh! The Sounds We Make” will be performed on Tuesday, Dec. 3, at 8:30, 9:30 and 10:30 a.m. at McKay Elementary in Beaverton. The concert will repeat on Wednesday, Dec. 4 at Peninsula Elementary in North Portland, at 9:00, 10:00, and 11:00 a.m., and the following Wednesday, Dec. 11, at 8:30, 9:30 and 10:30 a.m., at Lent Elementary in Southeast Portland. Tickets are $2/per student. All children in kindergarter through second grade are welcome to attend these concerts; daycare programs and homeschoolers are encouraged to contact the Education and Community Programs Department. For more information about Kinderkonzerts, contact the Oregon Symphony at 503-228-4294 or visit the Symphony's Web site at www.orsymphony.org.