Eugene Weekly : Oregon Bach Festival : 6.16.11

 

Oregon Bach Festival 2011:

Superhero, Saint, Believer Marin Alsop conducts Honeggers “Joan of Arc at the Stake”

Appear and Inspire Matthew Halls may be a “frustrated singer,” but he makes musicians smile

A Maestros Life Story Sara Rilling finds purpose writing about her famous father

Get Mellow with the Cello

Young and Wild for Music

OBF 2011 Oregon Bach Festival sked & highlights!

 

Young and Wild for Music

Maybe its not typical to take your 6-year-old to the Oregon Bach Festivals big choral concerts ã and thats probably just as well for the 6-year-old, unless shes already in love with the massive works that anchor both ends of the schedule and the founders concert in between.

Caminos del Inka June 25

But without 6-year-old and 16-year-old and 26-year-old listeners now, who will make up the Bach Festivals audience in 20 or 30 or 40 years? Parents looking for events for their children (and grandparents searching for something to share) would do well to consider some of the OBFs special programming for kids, while not ignoring that some of the shorter or smaller concerts could indeed interest children, depending on the childrens attention spans and interest levels.

The Bach Festival programs several child-specific events each year, such as the Savion Glover performances a couple of years ago. This year, one of the fests themes is “The Americas,” and the first OBF kids event fits that theme perfectly. Miguel Harth-Bedoya, former music director for the Eugene Symphony and current music director at the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, conducts the Caminos del Inka ensemble in “Travel the Inka Road” at 11 am Saturday, June 25, at the Hult. The group will demonstrate various instruments, play with images and deliver high-quality music for the under-adult set (while not boring the adults). This concert may sell out soon, but, as usual, stand in line for a while before the show, and you might be rewarded with a returned ticket or three.

At 1 pm, also on the 25th, the PICCFEST Choirs (lots of childrens choirs from all over the country) perform for free in the Hult Lobby. Its both intimidating and impressive to see the young ones fill the space. And at 7:30 pm Sunday, June 26, you can hear the PICCFEST choirs and more at the First Baptist Church of Eugene, a gorgeous venue for music.

Another kid-specific concert runs at 11 am Saturday, July 2, also in the Soreng, when Jamie Bernstein (yes, thats Leonards daughter) BRING’s the OBF orchestra to the stage to show off the music of the young Mozart. The Bach Festival literature says that a young Amadeus himself may pay a visit to the concert hall, so if your kid likes to sing “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,” this may be the concert for you.

Finally, the Stangeland Family Youth Choral Academy: Eighty-five teenage singers under the baton of Anton Armstrong, take the stage in Eugene at 3 pm Sunday, July 3, to perform a variety of works including “Danny Boy” and “Loch Lomond.” ã Suzi Steffen