FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA INTERVIEWS will be available on Tuesday, March 2nd with:
Tanya Derksen, WSO Director of Education and Outreach;
Dan Kamin, popular entertainer – Comedy in Motion;
Richard Lee, WSO Resident Conductor;
Participating students of Musical Discoveries.
Please contact Cheryl Waldner, WSO Communications Coordinator
949-3970
communications@wso.mb.ca
Please enter through backstage entrance of the Centennial Concert Hall.
The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra is integral to Winnipeg's rich cultural life, delighting more than 100,000 audience members each year with innovative programming and musical excellence. The WSO presents educational programs for more than 25,000 students annually and tours outside the city reaching out to communities across Manitoba.
WSO Launches Rescheduled SOLD OUT Musical Discoveries Program!
Winnipeg, MB – March 1, 2010 – Over 3300 children in Grades K-3 will be enjoying the brand new program, Musical Discoveries, presented by the Education and Outreach Department of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra (WSO)! The program, which features two rescheduled concerts on Tuesday, March 2nd have sold out more than two months in advance! (The original concert dates on January 25th were cancelled due to weather.)
Children from 42 schools in Winnipeg, Carmen, and Morris enrolled for and sold out the program by the end of October 2009. Musical Discoveries was specifically created due to overwhelming response from teachers requesting the WSO create music programming geared towards young students in Grades K-3. The WSO’s Education and Outreach Department already presents programs for students in Grades 4-12, and are excited to produce a brand new program to introduce younger children to orchestral music, some for the very first time.
Upon enrolling, each school received a Study Guide and CD that coincides with the Manitoba school curriculum for music education. The Study Guide features exciting activities that teachers can present in the classroom to prepare their students to attend the concert.
Marcelline Moody, who wrote the Study Guide, understands the importance of educating children in symphonic music, “Classical music is an unfamiliar language for most children. At these concerts, the students are introduced to it in an atmosphere of exploration, discovery and fun. The music lends itself to story-telling, stimulates the imagination and is immediately enjoyable.”
The two concerts on March 2nd (10:30 am and 1:00 pm) at the Centennial Concert Hall will feature popular entertainer Dan Kamin in The Magic Orchestra and will give six students the opportunity to participate on stage! Students will be familiar with most, if not all, pieces performed by the orchestra from studies in their music program at school. Pieces include selections from Beethoven’s 5th Symphony, Grieg’s In the Hall of the Mountain King, and Rimsky-Korsakov’s Flight of the Bumblebee.
For more information on Musical Discoveries, or any other WSO Education & Outreach program, contact Tanya Derksen, WSO Director of Education & Outreach at 949-3964 or at education@wso.mb.ca.
The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra is committed to reaching audiences of all ages through our Education and Outreach programs. The WSO is the largest performing arts organization offering music education outreach programs in the province of Manitoba. These programs are designed to make symphonic music exciting and accessible to all.
- 30 -