February 13, 2004
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Portland, Ore. … Travel out of this world with the instruments of the Oregon Symphony’s brass section as this season’s expanded cycle of Kinderkonzerts for kids in kindergarten through second grade continues with the Symphony’s Education and Programs Department’s third program of the series, “Blast Off!,” an exploration of brass instruments. The concerts will feature a brass quartet of select members of the Oregon Symphony, who will introduce kids to the various instruments of the brass family and will take place at three Portland-area elementary schools on March 2, 3 and 4.
“Blast Off!” will take children on a journey to the stars and planets looking for alien life. During the trip the children will learn about the different instruments of the brass section, including the tuba, trombone, French horn and trumpet. Kids will see and hear demonstrations of each instrument as the musicians play excerpts from the soundtrack to “Star Wars,” “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,” “It Don’t Mean a Thing if it Ain’t Got that Swing,” the theme song from Mister Rogers’ TV show, “It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” “It’s a Small World After All” and excerpts from the soundtrack to “2001: A Space Odyssey,” among other works. Kids will also learn about basic musical concepts including rhythm, legato, staccato, piano and forte, and will be introduced to the music of several composers including Duke Ellington and Beethoven.
KinderKonzerts sprang from the Symphony’s Artsvision plan, which recommended age-specific programming. This year’s expansion of the program will allow the Symphony to reach over 12,000 students in the Portland Metro area. 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 is an 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 Palisades Elementary allows the Symphony to bring its educational programs into Clackamas County.
“Blast Off!” will be performed on Tues., March 2 at 9 a.m., 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. at Peninsula Elementary in north Portland. The concert will repeat at 10 a.m., 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Wed., March 3 at Palisades Elementary in Lake Oswego, and will also be performed at 8:30, 9:30 and 10:30 a.m. on Thurs., March 4 at Lent Elementary in southeast Portland. Tickets are $2/per student. All children are welcome to attend these concerts, and they are open to anybody in grades K-2. Daycare programs and homeschoolers are encouraged to contact the Education Department. For more information about KinderKonzerts, contact the Oregon Symphony education department at 503-228-4294 or visit the Symphony's Web site at www.orsymphony.org.
