October 13, 2004

Event blends art and music

Saturday Family Symphony coordinates with museum exhibits

By Carol South
Herald contributing writer

       This season's Saturday Family Symphony debuted with Picture the Wind, drawing 102 people to the Milliken Auditorium to look, listen and learn.
      The event wove music by the Traverse Symphony Orchestra's woodwind quintet with paintings from the Dennos Museum's "Copley to Cassatt: American Paintings from the Detroit Institute of Arts" exhibit.
      Musicians Nancy Stagnitta on flute, Michael Beery on oboe, Jeanmarie Riccobono on clarinet, Deanna Chryst on bassoon and Heather Johnson on French horn played six classical pieces as a selection of paintings from the collection were projected on stage. Host Sandra Alderman guided the children to look at how the music interacted with the mood of the artwork.
      "Is the girl in the painting happy? Is the girl in the painting sad?" asked Alderman of one piece, before encouraging attendees to view the exhibit after the concert. "Try to see that Cassatt used swatches of color."
      The first of four events throughout the school year, Picture the Wind dovetailed with the Dennos Museum's Family Day. The two child-centered events coordinated around the theme of classic American paintings, offering a range of music, arts, crafts and games.
      The TSO also invited attendees to try playing a flute, French horn or clarinet during an instrument petting zoo held before and after the concert.
      "I told him if he'd try the French horn, I'd buy him lunch because he didn't want to try it and now he's, 'May I do it again?" said Sara Reinert of Northport, who attended the event with her son, Sam, 9. "This is our first time here and I thought it was great, quite a nice event; we're from Alaska so we don't get this kind of opportunity there."
      A ticket to the Saturday Family Symphony also granted admission to the museum for Family Day. Activities included framing a postcard of a classical painting, finding clues in the painting exhibit, dressing in early American costumes and playing with toys and games from that era. These games and toys included jacks, hen and chickens, hopscotch, tops and a pop gun.
      "We are so excited to be collaborating with the Dennos Museum and be able to use their resources in the Saturday Symphony series," said Kathleen Light, general manager of the Traverse Symphony Orchestra. "I think it went really well Saturday."
      Future Saturday Family Symphony events include:
      - Strings in Motion featuring the TSO String Quartet and dancer Tom Morrell. Saturday, November 13, at 11 a.m.
      - Drumming and Beyond featuring the TSO Percussion Ensemble and the museum's "Mentors" exhibit. Saturday, January 8, at 11 a.m.
      - Covered in Brass, which ties in with the museum's "Age of Armor" exhibit. Saturday, May 7, at 11 a.m.
      "We're hoping to take it to a new level this year," said Kathleen Buday, curator of education and interpretation. "More and more we want to pull in interactive activities and involvement from the audience."
      Tying the season's first Saturday Family Symphony to the American Paintings exhibit is just part of the museum's educational focus. Buday said that while the exhibition in general is going well, she hopes that more schools will take advantage of this year-long opportunity, which runs through September 2005.
      "We have a lot of wonderful tie-ins to curriculum with this show," Buday said. "We're also doing the sight and sound series geared to fourth and fifth grade levels, similar to what we did for Family Day but a lot more educational."
      For more information on the Saturday Family Symphony series, contact the TSO at 947-7120. For more information on the Dennos Museum's exhibits or educational opportunities, call 995-1055.