Kingston Symphony releases children’s series Harmon in Space!

The Kingston Symphony has launched a new digital series for children called Harmon in Space. This series follows Harmon the Hound, a puppet, as she tries to complete her space mission and return to Earth.

The first episode premiered today, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020, and begins the weekly series hosted on Kingston Symphony’s YouTube channel, according to a media release from the Kingston Symphony.

The main character of the series, a puppet named Harmon the Hound, needs the Kingston Symphony’s help to complete her space mission. According to the release, she is stuck in space and needs to play the correct piece of music into her computer in order to land on Earth. The orchestra is asked, one musician at a time, to help bring Harmon home. Each episode highlights a different instrument in the orchestra by featuring music performed by the Kingston Symphony.

The first eight episodes of Harmon in Space have been completed and will be released on a weekly basis on the Kingston Symphony’s YouTube channel. The first episode of the series, which features the flute, is available for viewing at https://youtu.be/kPEY9fmSkK4.

The Symphony is in the process of securing funding to complete the 13-episode series and hope to be able to create the final five episodes of Harmon in Space by early February. Kingston Symphony said that with limited music available in schools, especially now, and with children learning from home, they felt it was important more than ever to offer this series.

“In mid-March, we were stopped cold by the COVID-19 pandemic and felt somewhat discouraged about our future”, says Music Director Evan Mitchell. “What got our entire organization to be excited again was the chance to reach a whole new audience online. We have had tremendous response to the online programming we are doing now and we know that there is a demand for more, but it is Harmon the Hound who has stolen our hearts. Funny, thoughtful, educational, and engaging, we are all looking forward to sharing this video series.”

The Kingston Symphony is passionate about increasing programming in order to provide more children with a classical music experience, the Symphony said in the release. Creating the Harmon in Space series enables them to expand their reach significantly and engage with a larger cross-section of youth in the region and beyond. Without having live performances for audiences to attend, they need new ways to stay engaged with them.

For anyone interested in donating to support this series, or the Symphony in general, visit their Canada Helps page: https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/8959

According to the release, the series Harmon in Space! was created in partnership with Gazelle Automations, a Canadian production company who specializes in creating films for children. Based in Toronto, Ontario, Lindsay Lee and Justin T. Lee formed Gazelle Automations to combine their skills of writing, design, fabrication, puppeteering, film production, visual effects, and animation. Currently they are also developing shows with both CBC Kids and Shaftesbury.