Orchestra concert to focus on children

Thursday, October 21, 2010

GREENCASTLE -- To mark the opening of "ArtsFest 2010: Art and the Green Castle," the DePauw University Orchestra will present a concert on Oct. 31, at 3 p.m. in the Green Center for the Performing Arts, Kresge Auditorium.

Featured on the program will be a variety of works which focus on communities and the theme of the week-long celebration of the arts.

All of the works to be presented at the concert are oriented toward children. One in particular, "The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra," by English composer Benjamin Britten, teaches young listeners about the different instruments of the orchestra and how they work together.

"We are so excited to present this work for the young people in our community," says Orcenith Smith, conductor of the DePauw University Orchestra. Narrating the Britten piece is Tim Good, associate professor of communication and theatre at DePauw,.

With the concert falling on Halloween, naturally the Orchestra will also place some focus on things that go bump in the night. "'A Night on Bald Mountain' by Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky is a classic piece for this time of year," muses Smith.

"And, considering that the next Harry Potter movie is opening soon, we will present the films' music by John Williams; use your imagination to draw a connection between Hogwarts Castle and our very own Green Castle."

Opening the performance is "Global Warming" by African-American composer Michael Abels. "This is a wonderful work suggesting how different ethnic communities warm up to one another and discover common threads through music," notes Professor Smith. "Michael Abels does a brilliant job illuminating this thought process through music."

The concert is free and open to the public. For more information on this and other programs, visit the DePauw University School of Music online.

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