For parents who are wondering how to stimulate their children's interest in fine music, art and culture without involving a purple dinosaur, the Carlos Museum and the Chamber Music Society of Atlanta may have found an answer. For the fourth season, they have joined forces to present their noontime and children's concerts series including an expanded schedule of performances for children.
William Ransom, artistic director of the society and associate professor of music, said that "the beauty of these programs is that we choose a repertoire of works or portions of works that are not too long so that the children don't become restless. Each of the programs is about 45 minutes long. We are exposing children to the highest quality of music and plus they have a good time."
The schedule has grown each year and this year, two children's concerts and an additional noontime concert have been added.
A Halloween concert with a special appearance by Dooley will be presented on Saturday, Oct. 26. The program will include Saint-Saens Danse Macabre for piano four-hands; Tartini's Devil's Trill, violin sonata; and Franz Liszt's Mephisto Waltz, piano solo. Performing the pieces will be Keiko and William Ransom on piano and Jung-Ching Lin on violin.
A holiday concert on Saturday, Dec. 14, will feature classical and popular favorites from Mozart to Irving Berlin with a sing-a-long of Christmas and Hannakuh favorites. Carrie Culver, soprano; Victor Floyd, tenor; and William Ransom, piano, will perform.
The Easter Concert on Saturday, March 29, will be followed by an egg hunt. The third annual presentation of Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf for piano four-hands will be narrated by President Bill Chace.
Calling the museum "a model for what the arts can do on the campus," Ransom noted that "the noontime concerts in the series offer faculty, staff and students the chance to take a break to hear good music or to have a transcendental experience during the day."
He explained that the relationship between the music society and the Carlos Museum is a natural one. "At this point the museum is really the focal point for the arts at Emory, until a performing arts center is built. I've really been delighted that we've been able to do this series at the museum surrounded by the art and archaeology and other cultural events that happen there," he said.
The concerts for children and families begin at 11 a.m. All of the concerts are performed by the Emory Chamber Music Society of Atlanta with Ransom as artistic director and are free and open to the public and held in the Reception Hall on the third level of the museum.
--Matt Montgomery
The noontime concerts:
Friday, Sept. 20
Schumann's Trio and Finzi, pieces for clarinet and piano.
Friday, Oct. 18
Brahms' Violin Sonata, four-hand and solo piano works.
Friday, Nov. 22
Program of Dvorak, Shubert, Brahms, Tschaikovsky.
Friday, Jan. 31
Brahms' Variations on a Theme of Handel, Brahms' Hungarian Dances.
Friday, Feb. 14
Saint Valentine's Day concert of favorite love songs by Cole Porter, Gershwin and Puccini.
Friday, March 7
Brahms' Centennial Celebration features songs for soprano, viola and piano and his Sonata for cello.
Friday, April 11
Brahms Centennial Celebration continues with the Quintet for Strings.
Friday, May 2
Brahms Centennial Celebration concludes with the Quartet for Strings and music for piano four-hands.