“Thirty years ago, the Philharmonic Society of Orange County formed a partnership with a youth orchestra it felt could effectively introduce school kids to the world of orchestral music,” writes Sean Stroh in Sunday’s (3/6) Los Angeles Times. “Several decades later, ‘Concerts for Fifth Graders’ continues to flourish, serving nearly 15,000 students annually in four pairs of concerts at the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. Led by conductor Daniel Alfred Wachs and the Orange County Youth Symphony Orchestra, this year’s series of concerts features music from Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker. ‘We just want to be able to give the kids a fundamental foundation of orchestral music and it’s important to expose them to this style of music early,’ said Wachs.… The kids are not only introduced to orchestral music, but a bit of ballet as well, with appearances by several dancers from Anaheim Ballet during a few of the pieces. However, while the students are certainly entertained, the most important goal of the concerts is to educate.… The Philharmonic Society is currently in its 60th year of offering a number of different youth programs for kids as young as kindergarten and old as high school.”
Posted March 7, 2016
