“If there’s one thing Southeast Iowa Symphony Orchestra conductor Robert McConnell has tried to prove over the years, it’s you’re never too young to enjoy classical music,” writes William Smith in Monday’s (11/14) Hawk Eye (Burlington, Iowa). “That’s what the annual Kidsymphony! concert at the Capitol Theater was all about Saturday. ‘You get to hear every instrument in each section and every instrument individually,’ McConnell told the crowd of children and their parents…. Kidsymphony! wasn’t just a demo session. It was a full-blown concert peppered with light classical music…. This year, the concert focused on dance music … [including] ‘Hoe-Down’ from the ballet ‘Rodeo,’ … the barroom dance song ‘Furiant’ … ‘Waltz of the Flowers’ from the ‘The Nutcracker Suite,’ [and] the Latin dance song ‘Malaguena.’ … McConnell encouraged the audience to get up and dance when he signaled them…. After the concert … children and adults alike were invited to come on stage, chat with the musicians and admire their instruments.… Burlington city councilwoman Annie Wilson and her 8-year-old daughter, Addison Cardin, were big fans of ‘Furiant.’ … Addison had only one thing to say about the concert before rushing the stage. ‘It was awesome,’ she said.”
Posted November 15, 2016
