Concert Programs: Family and Children
MusicTalks’ family concerts offer an interactive foray into classical music through engaging activities and personal encounters with the musicians and their musical instruments
Musical Instrument Petting Zoo
Each MusicTalks Family Concert culminates in Our “Musical Instrument Petting Zoo” offers audience members a chance to meet the musicians and engage with their instruments up close, giving them an opportunity to touch, hear and experience variety of instruments.
Peter and The Wolf
The timeless classic presented in an interactive and exciting version! Serge Prokofiev’s “Peter and the Wolf” narrated by actress Shira Averbuch and accompanied by a full orchestra comes to life with all of its beloved melodies depicting animals from the story. In this performance, participants will get familiar with a wide-range of musical instrument and play in our musical memory game!
A Celebration of African-American music
An exciting family concert by Diverse Concert Artists celebrating the incredible life and music of African-American composers. Discover Chevalier Saint George (the “Black Mozart”), jazzy string quartet music, and songs by Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson. The concert will highlight the stories of heritage, friendships, and social justice behind the music.
Ella’s Trip to Israel
Join MusicTalks for a fun filled musical Journey based on the children’s book “Ella’s trip to Israel,” and discover breathtaking sites such as Jerusalem and the Kotel as well as the dead sea and the Israeli Shuk. Ella’s magical journey through Israel will be brought to life with a sing-along of well-known Israeli tunes such as “Hine Ma Tov” and “David Melech Israel,” Narrated and sung by actress Shira Averbuch, as well as original music composed by Or Matias and performed by a musical ensemble. Following the performance, the participants will be invited to see the musical instruments up close at our “Musical Instrument Petting Zoo.”
Text and artwork from Ella’s Trip to Israel appears with the permission of Kar-Ben Publishing, a division of Lerner Publishing Group. www.karben.com. Copyright ©2011 by Vivian Newman.
Drumming
MusicTalks drumming is a one of a kind adventure into the wild world of percussion. Learn about the exciting role of rhythm and beat in music through games and other interactive activities. Get ready to break a sweat as we explore the relationship between rhythm and movement, and with such a large variety of instruments at hand, everybody gets to play!
The Giving Tree
Shel Silverstein’s timeless thought-provoking children’s book, reimagined and set to the beloved music of Tchaikovsky. From Swan Lake to The Nutcracker to Sleeping Beauty, these classics will be performed by a clarinet and cello duo, in a collaboration of the most expressive of wooden instruments. Along with the duo, actor Ron Orlovsky will bring the tale to life through movement, creating an exciting story-time experience!
Pierrot in Love with The Moon
Discover the colorful story of Pierrot, an unlucky clown who fell in love with the moon, animated by an exciting pantomime performance courtesy of Israeli actor Ron Orlovsky, and set to the impressionistic music of Claude Debussy, featuring cello and piano. The performance will culminate with an interactive miming activity led by Ron!
The World of Scatting of Ella Fitzgerald
Celebrate the music of Ella Fitzgerald with award-winning vocalist Thana Alexa and the MusicTalks Jazz Trio. Ms. Alexa will sing Ella’s biggest hits, such as “It Don’t Mean a Thing”, and share inspiring tales of Ella’s life and her fight for equality. Along the way, we will discover the art of Ella’s scatting by singing together in a made-up language and imitating the sounds of musical instruments with our voices.
Room for Rent
MusicTalks presents an interactive performance of Lea Goldberg’s Israeli children’s book “Dira Lehaskir -Apartment to Let”! The entire family is invited to enjoy this timeless classic narrated by actress Shira Averbuch and accompanied by a five-piece ensemble. Following the performance, the children will discover the exciting world of conducting through an engaging “conductors workshop” and meet the instruments from the story at our “Musical Instrument Petting Zoo”!
The Lion who Loved Strawberries
MusicTalks presents the popular children’s book “The Lion who Loved Strawberries” brought to life through original music and song.
In this interactive performance, children will take part in the story, narrated by actress Shira Averbuch, through engaging musical activities and a roaring competition against the lion – represented in the music by the trombone.
Following the performance, the children will discover the exciting world of conducting through an engaging “conductors workshop”, and will be invited to meet the instruments up close at our “Musical Instrument Petting Zoo”!
Carnival of the Animals
Camille Saint-Saëns’s charming masterpiece features fourteen animals with a thirteen-piece orchestra. The highlight of this performance is a special performance by New York City Ballet Soloist, Ballerina Georgina Pazcoguin. Miss Pazcoguin will demonstrate how she interprets the Swan through dance, and teach the participants to dance like a swan in a short “Swan Workshop” accompanied by the orchestra.
Klezmer Kids
Discover the joy and spirit of klezmer music, the official music of Jewish celebration. This performance will transport you back to the shtetl, the traditional Eastern European Jewish village. Between songs and dance, we will get to know the clarinet and fiddle, the leading instruments of klezmer. The MusicTalks Klezmer Ensemble will perform some of the most well-known klezmer tunes such as Hava Nagila.
Building Bridges
MusicTalks is honored to present a groundbreaking collaboration between Iraqi dancer and choreographer Fadi Khoury and Israeli Cellist and MusicTalks founder Elad Kabilio.
This unique artist talk will shed light on the complex relationship between the artists’ nationalities through a special collaborative performance of Crumb’s Cello Sonata, culminating in an open discussion and Q&A. In the words of Mr. Khoury and Mr. Kabilio: “We are determined to eliminate the unnatural Taboo that has been forced upon our relationship by others, and remind society that we are all human. We are extremely lucky that New York is such a beautiful place to come together and communicate as individuals, regardless of our national backgrounds.”
Hanukkah Celebration Around the World
Hanukkah music from around the world with Elad Kabilio and the musicians from MusicTalks. Enjoy holiday songs from Israel, Yemen, Spain, and Ukraine. All this, plus a sing-along and a sweet Hanukkah treat to take home!
Ladino for Kids
Discover Ladino, the beautiful Judeo-Spanish language and its music. Along with singer Inbar Goldman and our musicians, we will tell ancient tales of the Sephardic Jews in Spain who spread through the Middle East. We will learn new words, sing together, and spotlight the musical culture of Sephardic women.
JazzTalks Junior
Dive into the world of jazz in this interactive performance featuring the MusicTalks Jazz Quartet. We will discover jazz legends Louis Armstrong and Charlie Parker and move to a variety of jazz rhythms such as Blues and Swing. The performance will culminate in an improvisation activity where children will be given the chance to take a solo with our musicians.
Harold and the Purple Crayon
Discover the world of jazz in this multisensory family concert featuring live music and visual art projections. In this classic children’s book, the curious boy, Harold, explores the power of imagination by drawing the world around him. We will bring Harold and his drawings to life by way of moving image and music played by the MusicTalks Jazz Quartet in this celebration of music and art.