On May 2, 2017 over 350 Walton County 4th graders joined students from Okaloosa County as the Northwest Florida Symphony Orchestra presented “The Orchestra Moves” as part of the national “Link Up” program in collaboration with Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute. The program included music from Offenbach’s Can-Can, Strauss’ Blue Danube Waltz, Mendelssohn’s Midsummer Night’s Dream, Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro, “Toreador” from Bizet’s Carmen, and the first movement of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. The varied program also introduced the student audience to the sections of the orchestra, and provided opportunities for them to sing and play along with the live orchestra in an interactive concert held in the Mainstage Theater at the Mattie Kelly Arts Center.
Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute Link Up national partnerships provide students the opportunity to discover how composers create musical movement using elements such as motif, melodic direction, steps and leaps, dynamics, and orchestration. Exploring a range of orchestral repertoire, students compose, sing, and play on the recorder and/or the violin.
Special thanks to the Northwest Florida Symphony Orchestra and their sponsors for providing this exceptional opportunity for the students of the Walton County School District.
Submitted by Keitha Bledsoe.