We saw all four concerts of the LOS this season: Vivaldi, Beethoven, Mendelssohn and Bernstein. The Little Orchestra Society does a terrific job of introducing kids to the pleasures of live music, with excerpts, videos, and some general tomfoolery and audience participation that does not detract from the beauty of the music. The Bernstein show was somewhat less successful than the other programs this season, since so much of Bernstein's music needs the context of the stage musicals and operas for which it was created. There was not much dancing at this performance and only a little bit of singing, though Kara Guy and Kelsey Lauritano did beautifully with "Ohio" from Wonderful Town. What was definitely missing were excerpts from the film versions of West Side Story and other musicals, presumably because the rights were too expensive, or perhaps it would have taken away from the emphasis on Bernstein's music.
As usual, the LOS used young soloists -- Alec Manasse on clarinet and Lucas Stratmann on violin -- who played beautifully and, one hopes, perhaps inspired the young listeners to study music. These concerts are excellent introductions to classical music for the intended audience of ages three to ten. At this point our five-year-old daughter, after a couple of years going to the ballet and LOS with us (where she is an attentive watcher and listener), is ready to move on to more complete works in the concert hall.
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