Knox County Symphony opens 60th season with Children’s Concert at Ariel-Foundation Park

The Knox County Symphony launches its 60th concert season with its annual Children’s Concert on Sunday, Sept. 28, at 3 p.m. in the Schnormeier Event Center at Ariel-Foundation Park.

The concert is free, and the event includes special art activities for children as well as free cider and cookies. 

The theme this year is “Art, Music, and Motion: How Sight and Sound Can Tell a Story.” Led by its longtime conductor Benjamin Locke, the orchestra will play three popular works: the "Andante" from Franz Josef Haydn’s Surprise Symphony (Symphony no. 94); the "Thunder and Lightning Polka," by Johann Strauss Jr.; and "Danse Macabre," by Camille Saint-Saëns. All of these works tell stories in different ways.

The inspiration for the musical selections comes from a painting, Suspended in Tempo, by American artist Naudline Pierre. The work is on display at the The Gund, Kenyon College’s art gallery and museum, and a reproduction of the work will appear in the concert program.

Jodi Kovach, the deputy director of curatorial affairs and education at The Gund, will discuss the painting, after which the symphony will perform "Danse Macabre." This symphonic poem represents a frenetic dance of creatures on All Hallow’s Eve, with a waltz-like tune becoming more and more intense until the revelry is brought to a halt by the morning crow of a rooster.

As in the past, Kenyon students who work as associates with The Gund will provide art supplies to young members of the audience, so that they can create their own artwork as they listen to the music.

The symphony’s next performance will be its Fall Concert, to be held on Oct. 25 in the R.R. Hodges Chapel Auditorium at Mount Vernon Nazarene University. Tickets for a sumptuous pre-concert dinner are available by reservation and separate purchase.