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Five quartets and quintets of children as young as 7 will perform at the concert, as will members of the Strings Program faculty. They will play pieces by Bach, Beethoven, and other well-known composers.  All the musicians will perform in costume. The audience is also invited to wear costumes, and those who do will receive a spooky glow-in-the-dark ‘silly band’ prize at the door.

 

Although most of the performers are  under 10 years old, they are veteran musicians. All are members or alumni of the South Pasadena Children’s Orchestra, which last year set a world record as the youngest orchestra ever to perform at Carnegie Hall. The orchestra was also featured on the 2010 South Pasadena Tournament of Roses Float, and in the 2009 PBS LA County Holiday Celebration, which  will air nationally this December.

 

“This is a wonderful opportunity for parents to get their young children interested in, and excited by, classical music,” says Pascale. “Seeing pint-sized musicians playing music by major composers, in costume, will engage even the youngest children!”  

 

An early, positive introduction to music can change a child’s life, says Pascale, citing the case of her own daughter, Ariana Solotoff, a violist. “Ariana has happy memories of herself as a toddler, playing on the floor with her toys, in the center of a quartet of musicians that I rehearsed with at my house every Sunday afternoon,” says Pascale. “The experience gave her a great love of classical music, inspired her to start music lessons at a young age, and ultimately, to become a professional musician herself.” Solotoff, who was the California state viola champion at 15, is now a high school senior, and is applying to conservatories. 

 

That experience helped shape Pascale’s policy of starting young children on musical instruments at a very young age. “We begin them as young as 3 1/2 in our KinderPiano® classes,” says Pascale. “The results are profound. The Halloween concert is an opportunity for people to witness the effectiveness of an early start.” 

 

In addition to the children’s ensembles, there will also be an adult trio performing a spooky movement in C-minor by Beethoven. That trio includes  Strings Program faculty members Lacey Ammar, a concert violinist, and cellist Joseph Mendoes, who also teaches part-time at the Colburn School, and whose many accomplishments include selection for the prestigious Naumberg International Cello Competition. The third member of the trio is violist Solotoff.

 

For more information about the concert, contact the Strings Program at 626/403-4611. To see and hear the young musicians of the Strings Program, go to www.stringsprogram.com.