Myth, Magic and Minibeasts is the intriguing title for an exciting day of children’s concerts taking place in Liverpool’s Philharmonic Hall on June 10th. Tying in with both the National Year of Reading and Liverpool’s European Capital of Culture 2008 status, the project aims to introduce both literacy and classical music to 2500 local children of Key Stage 1 age.

The concerts will be based on the Introducing Classical Music Through Stories book and CD series by children’s author, musician and teacher, Ann Bryant. On  the day, four well-known classical pieces will be performed by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra with the accompanying stories narrated by celebrity readers. And that’s not all – at the same time, full-colour illustrations from the books will be animated by local A Level students and projected onto a giant screen.

Wasp Alert in Minibug Bonanzaland (Ralph Vaughan-Williams’ Wasps Overture) tells the story of the panic which spreads when the Minibug home is threatened by the ferocious Stingers. In The Crazy Alien Ball (Modest Mussorgsky’s A Night on Bare Mountain), Harry finds himself stuck in the middle of some weird and revolting aliens holding a stomping, thundering party. Or was it perhaps just a dream? In The Incredible Spinning Wheel (Omphale’s Spinning Wheel by Camille Saint-Saëns), Jake and Chloe discover more than they expected when they venture into the attic and come across an old spinning wheel that spins stories. Finally, The Dragon’s Tale (Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony), newly written for this event, is based on the legend of George and the Dragon familiar to many children. 

Teachers – find out how your school can be involved

On Monday 7th April, all the schools involved in Myth, Magic and Minibeasts are invited to receive free training led by Ann Bryant on how best to use the materials in the classroom. Ann will also introduce a fantastic competition launched in connection with the concerts, where KS1 children are invited to illustrate any scene from The Dragon’s Tale. All entrants will then have the opportunity of seeing their work projected onto the screen during the reading of the story, with prizes for the winning children and their schools.

In all, an event not to be missed!
 

For more information on the events on 7th April and 10th June please contact Richard.Woolford@Liverpool.gov.uk
 

For more information on Ann Bryant or the Introducing Classical Music Through Stories series please contact Faber Music’s marketing department marketing@fabermusic.com