This year over 2,000 4th and 5th graders will attend the unique Children's Concert programmed especially for young people. It will be held in the 2400 seat Vic Lopez Auditorium at Whittier High School.
All of the youngsters have learned about the various musical instruments through the Symphony Association's popular Music Enrichment Program. As many children have never attended a symphony concert, they may not know proper concert etiquette. They learn not to whistle and when to applaud, as well as other appropriate behaviors.
This year Conductor Kimo Furumoto has planned a program geared to the young audience to be presented on January 15, 2014. The orchestra will present "The Symphony Goes to the Movies". The audience will hear works such as John Williams' Star Wars Theme and the Lion King Suite. It is always fascinating for the young people to see all of the musicians working and playing together. Such music is familiar to the students and seems to need little explanation.
In the past, when the concert theme was "Meet the Orchestra", the former Conductor Wayne Reinecke invited a student to take his place and lead the musicians. The young girl discovered it wasn't as easy as it looks.
A special treat for the young audience is to see and hear someone their own age performing as a soloist. Most of the young performers started their musical studies at a very early age and have won numerous awards.