Kids Fare Strikes Up the Band

EVANSTON, Ill. --- Upcoming winter and spring performances of the popular children’s concert series Kids Fare will feature the Northwestern University Symphonic Band, Northwestern University Chamber Orchestra and Jump Rhythm Jazz Project.

Presented by Northwestern University’s Henry and Leigh Bienen School of Music, the series of hourlong performances aims to spark creativity in children aged 3 to 8 and provide them with the tools for enjoying, understanding and making music.

All concerts are open to the public and held Saturdays at 10:30 a.m. on Northwestern’s Evanston campus at Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, 50 Arts Circle Drive. Tickets are $6 for the general public and $4 for students. To order tickets, call the Pick-Staiger ticket office at (847) 467-4000 or visit www.pickstaiger.org.

The four remaining Kids Fare 2012-13 series concerts are:

Jan. 26 - The Northwestern University Symphonic Band, led by Bienen School associate director of bands Timothy J. Robblee, presents “Band Illusions.” Robblee is an active conductor and clinician at music festivals and conferences throughout the United States. At this event, children will explore the power and excitement of brass, woodwinds and percussion.

Feb. 16 - This winter’s “Air Raid” program will feature an array of wind-generated sounds. Children will experience the unexpected possibilities of adding air to conventional and unconventional instruments, such as a blade of grass, kazoo, harmonica, slide whistle, trombone, garden hose, flute, seashell, oboe reed, bassoon, horn, pan pipe, puckered lips, clarinet, tuba and much more.

April 20 - Jump Rhythm Jazz Project, an Emmy Award-winning Chicago-based dance theater company, hosts the “Jump That Rhythm” program. Led by artistic director, principal choreographer and Fulbright Senior Scholar Billy Siegenfeld, the ensemble will encourage the audience to sing and dance along to various styles of music, using the group’s free and uninhibited approach to movement study called the Jump Rhythm Technique.

May 11 - The final installment of this season’s Kids Fare, “My Kingdom for an Orchestra!” features the Northwestern University Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Bienen School associate director of orchestras Robert G. Hasty. In this session, children will be introduced to a wide-ranging palette of musical styles presented by string, woodwind, brass and percussion instruments.

Construction alert

Due to construction on the south end of campus, Arts Circle Drive is currently closed to traffic. Free parking is still available on weekends and after 4 p.m. weekdays in the two-level lakefront structure located on Campus Drive. Turn onto Campus Drive from Sheridan Road and enter the parking structure on the right by way of ramps leading to the upper and lower levels. For vehicles with handicap placards, reserved spaces are available on weekends and after 4 p.m. weekdays in the lot directly west of Louis Hall. For more construction and parking information, visit www.pickstaiger.org/construction.

For more information, call the Pick-Staiger Concert Office at (847) 491-5441 or visit the Pick-Staiger website at www.pickstaiger.org.