The Sydney Symphony Orchestra Features New Offerings In Its Family Event Concert Series

In the first Sydney Symphony Orchestra Family Event for the 2019 Season, mime artist Andy Dexterity will bring to life Modest Mussorgsky's orchestral work, Pictures at an Exhibition, alongside Australia's premier orchestra on Sunday, 17 March at the Sydney Opera House.

Pictures at an Exhibition will mark the start of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra's Family Event concerts for the year, a series of three programs curated for audience aged five and up and designed to engage young minds with music.

Director of Learning and Community Engagement Linda Lorenza is excited for the year ahead and the new offerings that are available as part of the Family Event concert series.

"The Sydney Symphony Orchestra is passionate about sharing music in accessible ways and nurturing the next generation of musicians and music-lovers," said Lorenza.

"In 2019, the Sydney Symphony has doubled the number of Family Events and reduced ticket prices to AUD $25, ensuring that more children and their families can join us for these special concerts for young audiences."

Led by conductor Benjamin Northey, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra will perform the much-loved orchestral classic Pictures at an Exhibition on Sunday, 17 March as Andy Dexterity physically communicates each of the drawings and paintings on which Mussorgsky based his work.

Over the year, the 2019 Family Event concert series will also include a program of Vivaldi's Four Seasons (13 October), featuring Concertmaster Andrew Haveron performing alongside 10-year-old violinist Christian Li. On 10 November, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra will present The Composer is Dead, composed by Nathaniel Stookey with text by author Lemony Snicket. In an entertaining whodunit-style format, the audience assists an inspector in solving a mystery with the orchestra.

As part of each Family Event, children are invited to immerse themselves in music through interactive learning activities in the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall foyer, giving them the opportunity to connect directly with music and enhance their experience.