Donald Goldberg
Colorado Community Media’s exclusive
Don’t be shocked if kids start a conga line and teach the adults how to do it at an Inside the Story performance since they were inspired by the upbeat music.
The teaching artists have jumped up on stage with some very vivacious children, according to Shelby Mattingly, executive director of Inside the Orchestra.
A nonprofit programme called Inside the Orchestra introduces orchestra music to kids in the Denver region to foster their appreciation of it and further their education. Performances of Inside the Story are included under the nonprofit’s purview.
The group refers to the presentation as “immersive” due to its distinctive structure and performances that might incorporate music, dance, acting, and live narration. The children and other audience members are surrounded by the orchestra, while the conductor is facing the spectators. The intention is for the children to become so impressed by the music and the artists that they will pursue their own musical interests.
It appears to be effective. After the concert, the youngsters inspect the instruments up close and inquire about the musicians and other artists as their curiosity overtakes them.
After a three-year break, the group recently decided to resume its fall Tiny Tots in-person series for kids aged 7 and under and their families. A Surprise for Rabbit was performed twice for 45 minutes on October 22 to kick things off.
Each little audience member received a bilingual edition of Denise Vega’s storybook “A Surprise for Rabbit,” which is available in both English and Spanish.
A lot of talent was lined up inside the orchestra to assist with the performance. Program partners included the Denver Art Students League and the Lighthouse Writers Workshop. Leah Stephenson and Kristina Maldonado Bad Hand contributed the illustrations. The orchestral soundtrack was written by Emmy Award-winning composer Charles Denler. The dancers were choreographed by the Hannah Kahn Dance Company. The role of the rabbit was performed by local character actor Brian Kusic. Iliana Lucero Barron, a storyteller from the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, also took part.
Inside the Story programmes are an innovative collaboration between us and other groups, which is cool, according to Mattingly. The musicians will perform an original symphony composed for the book while the performances are centred on reading this storybook.
A holiday concert series featuring two performances of Christmas music per day is also being planned for December 10, 17, and 18. A relationship with DCPA will allow teaching artists to narrate the sessions. During a song from “The Nutcracker,” break dancers from Circus Foundry will be present.
When Inside the Orchestra was established in 1958, it raised funds for grants for music education initiatives. Later, the group’s directors realised that kids needed more active versions, which is how the 1985 season was born. The group now offers online programming in addition to live programmes across the Denver region.
When her 1-year-old son Gavin can accompany them, Cassandra Tompkin will have taken her 2-year-old daughter Emery to multiple shows.
Emery has thoroughly enjoyed each of the four places that we have taken her, according to Tompkin. She is standing there and watching the clarinet, oboe, and harp, so we lingered after and were some of the last ones to go.
Tompkin expressed her desire for her future daughter to learn to play an instrument.
“I won’t push her if she’s not interested; that’s okay. But I do want her to comprehend music outside of what is now popular, to have a respect for music, Tompkin added. I genuinely adore Inside the Orchestra, and they work with schools and community organisations far more than I have seen.
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