Symphony Education Partnership program reaches new audiences
For the past 25 years, grade 4 students from throughout the region attended the annual Symphony Education Partnership for a morning of music, learning, and fun. This Friday, Mar. 25, 2022, at 10 a.m. the Kingston Symphony will be live streaming the program to an estimated audience of over 7,000 students of all ages from throughout the province.
By offering this program online, the orchestra said they are able to reach a wider audience than ever before.
“This is the second year the Symphony has provided this annual concert online, and by embracing digital performances more students and their families can enjoy this unique musical experience,” the Kingston Symphony Association (KSA) said in a media release. “This year’s concert showcases all of the major instruments in the orchestra. The concert is a blend of education and live performance. It begins with Kingston Symphony Music Director, Evan Mitchell, providing a brief introduction to the instrument; how it works, what makes it unique, and what sort of music it often plays in the orchestra. The orchestra then performs a piece that focuses on that instrument in action.”
The Symphony Education Partnership brings the Kingston Symphony together with both local school boards and Queen’s University Dan School of Drama and Music. According to the release, a music education professor at Queen’s University writes a curriculum, music education students teach this curriculum to the grade 4 students prior to their attendance at a concert, and then the Kingston Symphony performs a concert; traditionally a total of four concerts over two mornings for students and their teachers.
Due to continued public health restrictions, the KSA said that students will not be able to attend the concert in person this year, but will be able to view the live stream from their classroom.
“It is an important part of the Kingston Symphony’s mission to provide accessible, educational programming to young people in our region,” the release continued. “Over the last two years, musicians from the Kingston Symphony have been actively involved in continuing this work by virtually visiting throughout Kingston and the surrounding area to talk about music, the instrument(s) they play, and to answer questions the students have about the orchestra and its many musical components. The Symphony Education Partnership is just one way the Kingston Symphony is reaching new audiences in Kingston and beyond.”
According to KSA the concert will be streamed on Friday, Mar. 25, 2022, at 10 a.m., and the stream will be available to view until Friday, Apr. 8, 2022, at 5 p.m. Interested viewers can register for the live stream at this link. It’s free to register and the concert link will be emailed to participants.