Family fun with PhilharMania!

Family fun with PhilharMania!

The Auckland Philharmonia’s PhilharMania! concerts have become a much anticipated event on the school holiday calendar – the 2003 concerts are on Tuesday 30 September at the Bruce Mason Centre and Friday 3 October at the Auckland Town Hall.

PhilharMania! is designed to provide a fun-filled, entertaining experience for children aged six to 11 years and their families. The hour-long concerts feature several short and lively pieces of music, ideal for young attention spans – two works have narration for added appeal: Peter Scholes’ Symphonic Legend: The Smallest Samurai, and Gregory Smith’s Mr Smith’s Composition. Britten’s Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, Grieg’s In the Hall of the Mountain King, and the finale from Tchaikovsky’s always popular Swan Lake complete the line-up. Marc Taddei conducts the orchestra (which dresses for the occasion in coloured tee shirts, with each colour representing a different section of the orchestra); and Charles Pierard is the narrator.

To complement the concerts, various musicians from the orchestra present “The Music Zoo”, demonstrations of instruments and their players in the foyer before and after the concerts. This is an interactive opportunity for children to watch and listen to a range of orchestral instruments and ask questions of the musicians. This year the instruments featured are flute, horn, viola, harp and oboe.

Orchestra Manager John Ure says PhilharMania! is another innovative way the Auckland Philharmonia is providing young people with the opportunity to experience the thrill of a live symphony orchestra. “PhilharMania! has been enormously successful since we initiated it in 2000,” he says, “and while primarily being an occasion to have fun and be entertained, the concerts are also designed to be a learning experience for children.”

Treat your children and yourself and to some very special holiday entertainment: PhilharMania! Tuesday 30 September – 11.30am & 6.30pm at the Bruce Mason Centre; Friday 3 October – 11.30am at the Auckland Town Hall. Tickets (adults and children) $10 each. General admission; prior bookings strongly recommended. Phone 0800-PHILHARMONIA (0800-744 542). PhilharMania! is sponsored by the Endeavour Charitable Trust with support from The Edge Community Arts Programme and North Shore City. The event is part of AK03. The Auckland Philharmonia receives major funding from Creative New Zealand and a major grant from Auckland City.

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