Children from Somerville and other nearby communities boarded a Time Machine "on loan from the Tufts Engineering department" at the Tufts Symphony Orchestra's annual children's concert on Sunday. The "Travel Through Time" theme allowed families to go back hundreds of years and meet orchestra members in full costume, including such composers as Beethoven, Berlioz and Tchaikovsky.
The concert, which is held at Cohen Auditorium, is the most highly attended of Tufts Symphony Orchestra (TSO) performances. "Our primary goal of the performance is musical outreach to the Tufts community. We want to share the love of music with these children and their families," orchestra member Amanda Fencl said. "It's exciting to hear live music, especially when it's geared to be interactive and engaging for younger children," she added.
Orchestra members were successful in accomplishing just that. At one point, children were encouraged to sing the opening line of Beethoven's "Symphony No. 5" and later to stand up and march to Berlioz's "Hungarian March" following a cue given by Tufts student Ellen Gorra, who joined children off-stage. When the musical rivalry between composer Fanny Mendelssohn and her brother Felix was described, an empathetic "Yeah!" was shouted by a young boy from the back of the theatre.
Another successful means of maintaining the kids' attention was a tale put to the music of George Kleinsinger's "Tubby the Tuba." This was a story of the Ugly Duckling variety, with musical accompaniment by soloist Michael Milnarik, in which the tuba discovers that it too can play beautiful melody lines.
Each student feigned the accent and personality of their respective composers and gave a brief speech about them. This proved to be an excellent way to make a history lesson more animated and to keep the children's eyes directed at the stage.
At concert's end, families were invited on stage to talk to the musicians about their instruments. It became clear that the parents and Tufts students were enjoying themselves just as much as the children. Neighborhood resident Meegun and her 8-year-old son Eli, who attends Medford public schools, have been attending the concert for many years. Meegun described it as "a great opportunity to hear classical music in a child-friendly environment." Dan Erickson, a freshman at Tufts and member of the orchestra, particularly enjoys this performance because "the kids are a fun-loving audience."
Erickson offered insight into the musical selection of the afternoon: "There are pieces that are well known, like Beethoven's, and a few that are by female composers so that children know that women are also involved in music."
Attendees were also encouraged to take in the dynamics and emotions of the music. The conductor instructed the audience to sway during the happier part of Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake," which was led by a Tufts student dressed as Tchaikovsky himself.
It is by such methods that the children are able to see the enjoyment that the Tufts students take in their music, which in turn encourages them to take an interest in it themselves. Remarks Fencl, "The TSO members aren't that far removed from the days when we all began playing. If we can turn a few of those kids onto playing instruments in the future then I think we've done our job."
Fencl concludes, "When music becomes an integral part of your life, you can only wish that other people, especially the kids in our audience get to experience the joys of it too." At a time when many schools are seeing cuts and drawbacks in music and other arts programs, this concert and other like it can hopefully fill that critical void for kids in the Somerville area.
