From Then to Now: Kids Take a Magical Musical History Tour with the RPO

Rochester, NY – On the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra’s Sunday, March 11 orKIDStra concert, families and kids will be able to see and hear how the orchestra has evolved over centuries – from the small Baroque ensembles to the larger orchestras of today – through short sections of music written with those changing groups in mind.  Michael Butterman, Conductor for Education and Outreach (The Louise and Henry Epstein Family Chair) leads the orchestra.  The concert will take place at 2:00 p.m. in the Performance Hall at Hochstein, with free pre-concert activities at 1:00 p.m.  Although ideal for children of all ages, orKIDStra concerts are designed for families with young children ages 3-9.  The orKIDStra Series is sponsored by Wendy’s Restaurants of Rochester.

Early repertoire for smaller orchestra includes 17th music by Henry Purcell through the time of Vivaldi, Handel, Mozart, Beethoven, Strauss, Grieg, Prokofiev and Copland, closing with a Jeff Tyzik arrangement of the big band In the Mood.  RPO Concertmaster Juliana Athayde (The Caroline W. Gannett & Clayla Ward Chair) will be featured in the first movement of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.

General admission tickets for orKIDStra Series concerts are $12 for adults and $10 for children, available online at www.rpo.org, by phone (454-2100) and in person from the RPO Box Office, and at any area Wegmans.  RPO Box Office hours are Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. (non-concert Saturdays, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.).  Wegmans is open seven days a week.  A convenience fee may apply.

Now in its 84th season, the RPO inspires and enriches the community through the art of music.  The Orchestra is passionately dedicated to outstanding musical performance at the highest artistic levels, and has a unique tradition of musical versatility, commitment to music education in the broadest sense and a deep and enduring engagement with the community.  The RPO has been honored with the New York State Governor’s Arts Award, and two recent ASCAP awards for adventurous programming.

RPO performances are made possible in part with grants from the National Endowment for the Arts; the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency; the State of New York; Monroe County; the City of Rochester; and American Airlines, the official airline of the RPO.