Pacific Symphony's Class Act Enters 23rd Season as Students Discover the Magic of Music Through Beethoven

More than 23 years ago, Pacific Symphony first joined hands with Orange County schools and parents to create a program that would bring quality music education to elementary school children, and it's been a class act ever since! Each year, fall marks the kick-off of the popular Frieda Belinfante Class Act program-one of the Symphony's oldest and most revered partnership programs-with an annual Welcome Event, followed by the first Prelude Assemblies of the 2017-18 season. At the heart of Class Act are Pacific Symphony musicians, who take on the role of teaching artists to ignite the joy of music in more than 15,000 students throughout Orange County, creating bonds between the schools and the Symphony, as well as within individual schools.

"Class Act is an amazing program that makes classical music accessible and relatable to students of all ages," says Jonathan Terry, the Symphony's director of education. "Each year, students learn about a different composer through a new theme. It's a truly special program that brings Symphony musicians into classrooms to teach what makes music so remarkable."

Designed to rev the engines of everyone who will be involved in Class Act, the Welcome Event was held this year in conjunction with the Symphony's first Sunday Casual Connections concert ("Beethoven's Fifth Revealed") on Sept. 17.

"The Welcome Event is for all of our Class Act participants," explains Terry. "Each school has a Class Act team comprised of the principal, teacher representatives, office staff, music teachers, community liaisons and parent coordinators. This event is a chance for all of our school teams to enjoy a concert, meet each other and the staff, and to hear first-hand from Class Act parents' Symphony President John Forsyte and Music Director Carl St.Clair about the impact of the program."

The real magic happens when Class Act officially launches on Oct. 11 with the first Prelude Assemblies, which are presented to entire student bodies and hosted by a professional actor to prepare the way for classroom lessons to begin. Geared toward specific grade levels, the lessons are taught by Symphony musicians, who share details about their careers, while exploring the works of noteworthy composers and the evolution of symphonic music. This year, our musicians will help students discover the genius of Beethoven (and other composers) through the theme-"Beethoven: Trials to Triumph.