Some Sound Words on Harmonious Trips

Walter Adler had not been interested in hearing the orchestra in the first place. He didn’t change his mind once the concert started.

“I just don’t think this music is good for me,” the 7-year-old complained to his mother throughout the performance.

That was more than four years ago and Walter hasn’t been back to hear the New York Philharmonic since, said his mother, B.J. Adler. Ironically, her job is to promote children’s interest in the arts through the national nonprofit organization Young Audiences.

“I learned the hard way that you can’t force kids to appreciate music,” Adler said. “It won’t do any good. You’ve got to find something they can relate to so that it has power in their lives.”

At a time when schools are cutting back on music and art classes, orchestras around the country, like museums, are attempting to fill the void. They are offering short concerts and inviting children to meet the musicians or try some instruments before a performance begins. They are hoping, of course, to build the next generation of concert-goers in the process. Tickets can be cheaper than a movie--$3 to $5 a person in some places.

“We’ve had to redesign programming with a view that this is a child’s first and, in too many cases, their only experience with classical music,” said Jim Ruggirello, education director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Vacation times in a new city--when a family is searching for different activities than those at home--can be a first-rate opportunity for trying something new, such as a classical concert, Ruggirello said. The kids might even like seeing the great historic buildings where many orchestra concerts are held. (Contact city or state tourist boards or Chambers of Commerce for advice on city orchestras around the country.)

The New York Philharmonic, for example, has launched a highly successful series called Young Friends of the Philharmonic for teen-agers, in addition to the Young People’s Concerts that Leonard Bernstein made famous. The Los Angeles Philharmonic has Saturday family concerts. For information about children’s programming, call the New York Philharmonic at (212) 875-5656 and the Los Angeles Philharmonic at (213) 850-2000. If there isn’t a concert specifically geared to children, try an open rehearsal or outdoor arts festival.

Young Audiences, for example, sponsors Family Festival of the Arts events, involving performance and visual arts programs for families in public facilities such as museums in cities across the country. (To find out more about Young Audiences’ Family Festival of the Arts call 212-831-8110.)

During the summer, take a picnic to hear an orchestra under the stars. The Boston Symphony, for example, plays at Tanglewood in western Massachusetts; the Chicago Symphony at Ravinia in a northern suburb; the Los Angeles Philharmonic has special family programs at the Hollywood Bowl.

Listen to music and read up on composers in advance. Try the new “Getting to Know the World’s Greatest Composers” series written and illustrated by Mike Venezia from Children’s Press ($4.95). Using funny cartoons, Venezia makes composers such as Tchaikovsky and Gershwin seem human.

But don’t overdo it. “It’s a success if the kids leave wanting to come back for more,” said Polly Kahn, education director of the New York Philharmonic.

If they get fidgety, take them home, Ruggirello said. Preschoolers who might be too young for a concert may love visiting a music store where they could get close to the instruments, Kahn said.

Just like you read to them, make time to listen to music together. Car trips provide ample opportunity to experiment.

“In music, you don’t have to be an expert to participate,” said Canadian music educator Sue Hammond.

Her desire to turn kids on to classical music has spawned the “Classical Kids” series. Through stories on tape involving fictional children, kids can travel back into the worlds of such famous composers as Beethoven, Vivaldi and Mozart while being introduced to some of their most famous compositions. More than a million tapes have been sold.

“The idea of leaving the 20th Century to go back to a more gentle time is wonderful,” said Hammond, who is the mother of two daughters. “The problem never was the music.

“It was the way it was presented to children--so dry, like medicine that’s good for them.”

Hammond suggests this could be a way to entice children to at least give classical music a listen: Ask the kids to define a rock star. He or she invariably breaks the rules, is loud and has long hair. That describes Beethoven.

“These composers still have so much to say to all of us,” Hammond said. “Just get the kids to give them a chance.”

Taking the Kids appears weekly.