Mini Maestros

THROUGH THE EYES of a child every new experience can be thrilling. Simple pleasures are amplified by the lens of curiosity through which children encounter the world around them. This month, Darwin Symphony Orchestra’s (DSO) magical Family Proms concert returns to offer inquisitive little ones a glimpse into how music is really made.

^{By Kate Conway}

The interactive performance is aimed at infants through to 10 years of age, one DSO Artistic Director and Chief Conductor Jon Tooby says is an informal introduction to the sights and sounds of a symphony orchestra.

“There’s lots of instrument demonstrations, clapping, singing, dancing and marching … At the end we have this wonderful walk through that gives kids the opportunity to get up close to instruments, see them in action and really get a sense of what it’s all about,” he says.

This year, DSO has added a second concert, held at Palmerston Recreation Centre for the first time. A handful of lucky audience members get the chance to take centre stage and try their hand at conducting, baton and all, with entertaining results.

“The brief I give the orchestra is they have to do whatever the child does, so it’s hilarious. Often it gets faster and slower and louder and softer and sometimes it just completely falls apart … It’s about seeing little faces light up when they see that their actions, just by moving, starts 60 musicians at the same time. That’s where the magic is,” Tooby says.

Just like library story times can introduce children to reading and literacy, Family Proms is an educational foray into the joys of music for the whole family. Parents, grandparents, uncles and aunties, bundle up your bundles of joy and join DSO for a captivating morning of musical delight.

Darwin Symphony Orchestra - Family Proms
WHEN SAT 11 MAY | 9.30 & 11AM
AT PALMERSTON RECREATION CENTRE
COST $15
INFO dso.org.au

^{Photo: Hannah Herbert}