Carnival of the Animals Children’s Concert at Hoff-Barthelson Music School

Carnival of the Animals Children’s Concert

A Concert and Instrument “Petting Zoo” for Children and their Families featuring the Hoff-Barthelson Music School Faculty

Hoff-Barthelson Music School presents a special concert for children featuring a performance of Camille Saint-Saëns’ beloved work “The Carnival of the Animals,” on Sunday, March 25, 2018, at 2:00 pm, at the School, 25 School Lane, Scarsdale. The concert, performed by members of the School’s superb faculty under the direction of Chi-Chi Lin Bestmann, will introduce youngsters to many of the instruments of the orchestra. Executive Director Ken Cole will serve as narrator using the humorous verses by Ogden Nash especially written for this piece.

Designed to be fun, educational and engaging, the concert will spark the imagination of the whole family through an exploration and sampling of the instruments. Stay afterwards for light refreshments and an instrumental “petting zoo” where children are invited to meet the instruments up close at a table hosted by Ardsley Musical Instruments and Services. Suitable for ages 5 and up, the concert is free of charge.

Faculty performers include Chi-Chi Lin Bestmann, conductor; Donna Elaine, piccolo and flute; Daniel Spitzer, clarinet; Lani King Chang and Claire Bright, violins; Naomi Graf, viola; Peter Seidenberg, cello; Sue Fleishaker, double bass; Adrienne Kim and Eileen Buck, pianos; and Glenn Rhian and Larry Spivack, xylophones.

About The Carnival of the Animals:
“The Carnival of the Animals” is a humorous musical suite of fourteen brief movements by the French composer Camille Saint-Saëns; he regarded this as a “fun piece.” Fearful that it would destroy his reputation as a serious composer, he banned most of it from public performance until after his death. The music is beautiful, funny, and clever all at once. Each movement represents a different animal or group of animals, with the instruments mimicking their voices or the way they move. Starting with the lion’s roar and slowing to reflect the elephant’s bulk, Saint-Saëns pokes fun at the music of his time. In one movement the plodding tortoise is depicted utilizing a slowed down version of Jacques Offenbach’s “Galop infernal” (known by many as the “Can-Can”). In the shortest movement, “Personages with Long Ears”, the listener hears a conversation between two braying donkeys articulated by loud, high notes in the violin. An isolated clarinet creates a scene of a bird calling though a forest in “The Cuckoo in the Depths of the Woods.”

Saint-Saëns mimics his own composition, “Danse macabre” in “Fossils”, which makes use of the xylophone to evoke the image of skeletons playing card games; we hear their bones clacking together to the beat. One of the most iconic movements in the piece, “The Swan,” is scored for two pianos and cello solo. The halcyon melody of the cello calls to mind the swan as it glides effortlessly across a pond.

For Additional Information/Reservations:
For additional information or to reserve seats, please call 914-723-1169 or e-mail hb@hbms.org.

About Hoff-Barthelson Music School:
Hoff-Barthelson Music School has achieved national recognition as a premier community music school for its unsurpassed leadership in education, performance and community service. With a faculty drawn from the region’s most talented teachers and performers, the School has long been one of Westchester County’s most cherished cultural resources. Whatever a student’s age or level of musical interest, HBMS’ diverse offerings provide the highest quality musical education, personally tailored to his or her specific passions and goals in a supportive and vibrant community.

Programs of Hoff-Barthelson Music School are made possible, in part, by ArtsWestchester with support from Westchester County Government, and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

Pictured: Conductor and violist Chi-Chi Lin Bestmann