Auburn Symphony Family Concert: Peter and the Wolf

What happens when a distinguished symphony sets aside convention and dares to explore its wilder side? At 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 7, children in the Auburn area will get the chance to find out. Trading the decorum of Bach and Mozart for the playful bedlam of Russian composer Prokofiev and others, the Auburn Symphony presents Family Concert, featuring the orchestral classic Peter and the Wolf. The folktale, commissioned in 1936 by a children's theater in Moscow, introduces audience members to the orchestra by using different instruments to represent characters and themes. The result is something less than restrained. "If you're worried if your kid can be quiet for an hour, that really doesn't matter," said Maestro Ryan Murray. "It's a really fun and open event. Kids of all ages come to this." So many kids come, Murray says, that the event often sells out. Attracting a large crowd is the mellifluous charm of performer Omari Tau, who narrates Peter and the Wolf with dramatic flourish. "We have the best narrator in California, if not the country," Murray promised. "He has an amazing speaking voice, and he does lots of different voices as well. It's a real audience favorite." Tau, whose artistic range also includes singer, actor and composer, has a special fondness for Peter and the Wolf. "It's a crowd favorite, a historical favorite, and it stands the test of time," he said. "For me, the joy is in seeing young faces learn about orchestral elements and hearing the story come alive." The early inspiration may plant a musical seed in some viewers, especially after watching Young Artists Grand Prize winner Sumanth Ganga perform the first movement of Creston's Sonata for Alto Saxophone. The 17-year-old first played the piece alongside piano. To adapt it for the Auburn Symphony, the Ganga family commissioned an original arrangement to include the full orchestra. "It's a little nerve-wracking," the teenager admitted. "It's the biggest performance I've ever done and the most important." An original arrangement is rare, Murray said. Rarer still is a saxophonist as the Young Artists Grand Prize winner. "The winner is often violin, piano or cello, and they're generally playing pieces that have been around a long time," he said. "This is the first saxophone winner we've had since I've been here. I am really impressed with him." Though nervous, Ganga is excited to share the emotions of the music with the audience. "The first part of the piece is very intense, but it slows down and there's this very sentimental slow part before it heats up again for the ending," he said. "The hills and valleys and emotions are what I find really interesting about it." Also featured – but with more hills than valleys – the Slavonic Dances is sure to have kids wiggling. "Fast, loud and fun" is how Murray describes the music. "The Slavonic pieces are all based on dance rhythms. It's a really fun orchestra show piece." Murray will round out the program with what he promises to be some "fun surprises," and at the end of the show, audience members will get to participate in an instrument petting zoo. "They'll have a lot of different instruments that kids and their families can see and even play," Murray said. "It's always a fun and loud event." To treat your children (or your inner child) to an afternoon of loud fun, visit AuburnSymphony.com or visit the Symphony office at 985 Lincoln Way, Suite 102, Auburn; call 530-823-6683; or email Office@AuburnSymphony.com. Michael Rohm is a writer whose work has taken him around the world, covering topics from war in Ukraine to land rights in Madagascar. Past articles with the Auburn Journal include wildfires, river cleanup and arts in the city.