We introduce music to the public with these various programs and events:
1. Pre-Concert Presentations
Prior to each subscription concert, we offer insights into music and musicians at 7:15pm in the Turner Studio Theater of the Clark State Performing Arts Center. Pre-concert talks before MasterWorks programs cover aspects of the music on the program, and are presented by annual favorites Trudy Faber, Prof. Chris Durrenberger, or Maestro Peter Stafford Wilson. Prior to NightLights concerts, orchestra members discuss topics regarding the orchestra, and offer insights into performing on their specific instruments.
2. Concerts for Young People
Every year, 1,500 area 4th and 5th graders attend an SSO concert at the Kuss Auditorium of the Clark State Performing Arts Center. The students are treated to an orchestral concert experience, the goal of which is to excite them about symphonic music, and perhaps inspire them to want to learn to play a musical instrument. We continue to hear from adults of all ages who were inspired by these concerts as children. It is a memorable experience and still a highlight of their lives even decades after the event.
3. Students at the Symphony
This special program is made available through a generous donation from Lawrence Landess. During each concert season, 20 students from Perrin Woods, Fulton, and Snyder Park Elementary schools attend each concert with Music Teacher and Choir Director Sharon Koster. This program brings young people to the concert hall and enables them to broaden their appreciation of all types of music. Special activities include meeting guest artists and SSO musicians, and a tour of the Performing Arts Center.
4. Musical Petting Zoos, and Clark State Children's Hour
The SSO participates in the Clark State Community College Family Fun Fest and the Springfield Arts Council's Kid Fest. Our booth features a "Musical Petting Zoo," which enables children (and adults too!) to try out different musical instruments with the assistance of SSO musicians. We also present a program every year for the Clark State Children's Hour, featuring a Youth Symphony Ensemble, and the chance for children to try out different instruments. These events offer potential young musicians the opportunity to feel what it is like to touch, hold, and play an instrument. No one is too young or too old to experience the joy of making a sound on a musical instrument!
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Click on the logo to see the SSO on YouTube during one our Concerts for Young People.
Students enjoy trying out instruments during the Clark State Children's Hour.
Happiness for these school kids is a visit to the Symphony. |
