2011 Youth Concert – Mozart’s Magnificent Voyage
This popular concert features Mozart’s young son, Karl, who feels isolated and neglected from his experiences at boarding school. Wolfgang is experiencing his own pressures from family and fame. Their struggles act as a catalyst for sharing adventure and understanding as they discover the common bonds they both share. Watch this story come to life as Karl and his father relive young Wolfgang’s meeting of the Queen of England and the Pope in Rome. From the Sistine Chapel to Carnivale there is much to learn much about the young prodigy’s extraordinary life.
Arts Access Workshops
Fresno Philharmonic’s newly designed Community Engagement Initiative seeks to find new and inspired ways that put the wonder and excitement of the orchestral arts within reach for everyone in our community.
One strategy under this Initiative is our Arts Access Student Voucher Program. This program, supported by the Bonner Family Foundation, will allow students in our community to attend first class professional orchestral concerts with their family at absolutely no charge to them! Read More…
Best Buy & England are supporting music education with large donations
Best Buy:
Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal – by James Anderson, Staff Writer Date: Wednesday, February 9, 2011, 9:38am CST
Best Buy Co. Inc. and its children’s foundation announced Wednesday a $1.24 million donation to the Grammy Foundation to support music education in high schools.
The contribution exceeds the Richfield-based electronics retailer’s 2010 goal by more than $250,000, according to a news release. Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) has in recent years tailored its corporate giving strategy toward programs that benefit teens. Read More…
Three Broadway Phantoms captivate local high school students
Last Saturday morning, laughter and applause filled the Saroyan theatre as over 50 high school students from Friends Home School and Clovis West attended an open rehearsal of the Three Phantoms in Concert. The artists and Maestro Topilow hammed it up for the students as they sailed thru a virtually seamless rehearsal for the sold out show later that night. After the rehearsal the Phantoms and Maestro entertained the students with a half hour long Q & A session, educating the students about how to do pursue a career in theatre, how they each got their big break and the perils of airline travel.
For more information on the Three Phantoms in Concert: http://fresnophil.org/phantoms.html or http://www.3phantomsinconcert.com/
For more information on Clovis West’s performance of The Phantom of the Opera: http://vapa.cusd.com/_frame/drama.html
World renowned Edgar Meyer performs for Bullard Talent students
As the January weather blustered outside, 300 Bullard Talent students gathered in their multipurpose room to enjoy the musical stylings of world renowned bassist Edgar Meyer. During a Concertos for Kids presentation, Mr. Meyer demonstrated his extensive range for the children by playing one very jazzy piece with a funky beat and then performing one very traditional classical Bach piece while he explained to the students that its his job to perform for people just like them all over the world.
For more information on Edgar Meyer: http://fresnophil.org/edgar.html or http://www.edgarmeyer.com/
Sanger Orchestra Students receive visit from Maestro Kuchar
Hallmark Charter School’s Advanced Orchestra had the good fortune of a visit from Theodore Kuchar two weeks ago in Sanger. The orchestra has been learning Schubert’s Sixth Symphony, and Kuchar is just the man to inspire and instruct concerning bowings, breathing, and style. Kuchar’s vast experience with the orchestra literature enables him to focus on single measures or passages and get the students to respond and apply his vision to the broader scope of the music.
Principal Alfred Sanchez, vice-principal Katherine Ortego-Jones, and others from the faculty sat in to see local royalty work with the students, and their reaction was glowing. Afterward, always proud of his school, Sanchez said that he felt Kuchar’s visit is yet another reason why the school performs so well. Many of the teachers seek to bring in experts on occasion to boost the learning experience.
Students worked hard as Kuchar drilled specific techniques, and they laughed at his unexpected wit. The great and famous maestro communicates with kids on their level. One student told me that he learned so much about his violin in that single session that he hopes Kuchar will return; he left the students hungry for more. It is always nice for the students to receive a lesson from a different angle than their regular teacher.
Post Written By George Warren
Thousands of students attend Youth Concerts at Saroyan Theatre
On chilly weekday mornings last week, thousands of students from all over Fresno, Madera and Kings Counties flooded into the Saroyan Theatre to take part in the Fresno Philharmonic Youth Concerts. Actors from Classical Kids Live! and musicians of the Fresno Philharmonic performed onstage, regaling the children in attendance with the exciting story of orphaned Katarina and her instructor Antonio Vivaldi as they unfold a mystery during the Carnival in Venice.
Weeks prior, teachers attended a workshop with Bob Bullwinkel of the Fresno County Department of Education to learn how to integrate this concert and its music into their existing curriculum. With that instruction, the concert ceases to be your average run of the mill field trip. Instead it becomes a vehicle to enhance students engagement in learning, by connecting classical music to everyday student life such as reading, math, motivation, critical thinking and social skills.
The Fresno Philharmonic strives to be a strong and effective provider of arts education in our community and to the children in our area. We are deeply grateful to the sponsors and annual fund contributors that allow us to continue with this mission. Youth-Family Sponsors 20101[1]
Students volunteer their time for Family Concert
Big thanks to the Fresno State Womens Basketball Team, Fresno High students and Sunnyside High student volunteers that lended a hand to provide all sorts of fun and games to the children that attended our Family Concert on November 19th!
16 year old Violinist Chad Hoopes speaks to Malaga, Marshall & Fremont Elementary
‘Do you know Lady Gaga?’ was just one of the many many questions students asked 16 year old phenom violinist Chad Hoopes at a Concertos for Kids presentation Friday morning. Sadly, Chad had to report that no, he had not had the chance to meet Lady Gaga… yet.
Although Mr. Hoopes couldn’t share any Lady Gaga stories with his young audience, he was able to teach the children about his not quite 300 year old Stradivarius violin, share how he spends six hours a day practicing his craft and how a few years ago, he filmed a TV commercial for a major league baseball team. Chad also spoke to the importance of music in schools and how he passionately believes that every student should be exposed to music.
As the presentation was winding down, Chad was asked to play one last piece and a request for a Justin Beiber song was shouted out. While he lamented that he was not up to date on the music of Justin Beiber, Chad was able to provide a very special treat to one of the students in attendance by leading the group in a round of ‘Happy Birthday To You!’ on his violin.
To view video of Chad performing at Malaga Elementary, please visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grnGSkeb-Rs
For more information on Chad Hoopes and his performance with the Fresno Philharmonic, please visit: http://fresnophil.org/total.html
For more information on Concertos for Kids, please visit: http://education.fresnophil.org/?cat=13
Lifelong learning with the Fresno Phil
As the orchestra tunes, members of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute settle into their seats and prepare to watch the musicians rehearse. Last Thursday evening the Fresno State group attended an Open Rehearsal of ‘Total Tchaikovsky’ when just the day before they were treated to a personal visit from Maestro Kuchar to speak about his career as a professional conductor.
Open Rehearsals invites students to encounter music in a concert hall setting. Students see and hear the Fresno Philharmonic in action by attending our final working rehearsal for our Masterwork concerts. The group will witness the hard work that goes into coordinating the sounds of different musicians and their instruments while getting an up-close glimpse of a professional orchestra and the exciting world of orchestral music.
To learn more about our Open Rehearsals, please visit: http://education.fresnophil.org/?cat=23
To learn more about the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, please visit: http://www.csufresno.edu/olli/
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