Review on "The Magical Musical Weather Report" Family Concert

This is a Family concert where the little ones are welcome. There were many families with tiny infants who also showed up. It was held at the Elizabeth "Libby" F. Gardner Concert Hall at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, on the 20th of January, 2007.

The pieces were chosen to depict different seasons and weather conditions. They had an emcee who was actually an anchorman from the TV Weather Channel's Channel 2. So he reported the weather conditions like he was doing a news report. Then the orchestra would play accordingly, on the stage.

The programme was as follows:

1. Theme from "Twister".

2. Morning Mood from Peer Gynt Suite.

3. Vivaldi's Four Seasons (excerpts played to match the weather report: like heavy rain, thunder, hot humid summer, cold winter and cool autumn)

4. Waltz of the Snowflakes from The Nutcracker

5. Storm and Shipwreck from Scheherazade.

6. Cloudburst from Grand Canyon Suite.

I find the pieces a very good mix and it exposed the children to various genres of music too. Many of them were classical pieces but all very different and it is an excellent way to acquaint and familiarise kids with classical music. The music also described various moods and emotions, ranging from light-hearted and happy to angry and stormy.

The children thus had the opportunity to not only learn about the weather, the seasons, but also feelings and moods. They also became aware that music can express many different feelings and tell a story.

For the Waltz, there were 3 ballerinas who danced like snowflakes in front of the orchestra that was playing. They were so adorable, all dressed in white, and really resembled snowflakes. This also introduced the appreciation of dance to the young children, and I feel it was a great way to integrate music, science and dance.

I think the best thing is the price of the tickets. It costs only US$3.50 for the kids, and $8.50 for adults.