A singing lion, a violin-playing puma, a dancing whale and other costumed classical musicians took the stage Sunday, Aug. 27 to present a special interactive children’s concert as part of Olympic …
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Musicians from GardenMusic, including Nathan Farrington (left) in a lion costume, performed a special children’s concert Aug. 27 as part of the Olympic Music Festival. Photo by Katie Kowalski
Emile D’Alessandro, 2, plays the piano Aug. 27 after the Olympic Music Festival’s children’s concert. Photo by Katie Kowalski
Also pictured are Alexis Gallardo, a friend of the musicians, in a dolphin mask, Olympic Music Festival director Julio Elizalde (far right) on drums and Teddy Abrams behind the piano. Photo by Katie Kowalski
A singing lion, a violin-playing puma, a dancing whale and other costumed classical musicians took the stage Sunday, Aug. 27 to present a special interactive children’s concert as part of Olympic Music Festival’s chamber music season at Centrum.
Over the course of an hour, the motorcycle-riding lion met and interacted with animals who taught him about protecting the world from pollution so that all could be happy and share the planet together.
“Kids are learning about the world and about music simultaneously,” said pianist Teddy Abrams, an Olympic Musical Festival veteran and founder of the GardenMusic festival. GardenMusic musicians performed in the show.
The story, narrated by Gabriel Globus-Hoenich, was punctuated with musical interludes and songs, some of which were written especially for the show. Kids in the audience danced and clapped along with their parents, and at the end, were invited on stage to try playing the instruments.
That part was the most rewarding for Olympic Music Festival artistic director Julio Elizalde. “Just seeing this look of wonder on their faces,” Elizalde said. “That moment of discovery is something that’s very important,”
The concert was free for both kids and their parents. “It’s a way for the Olympic Music Festival to give back to the community,” Elizalde said.
Musicians from GardenMusic also performed two other concerts last weekend, which combined classical music with jazz, bluegrass and other musical genres in unexpected arrangements.
“The GardenMusic weekend is something that we look forward to all year,” Abrams said. “We work together the entire week to create something that’s special, that doesn’t exist anywhere else.”
Olympic Music Festival concerts at Centrum continue through Sept. 10.
