Hip, Hispanic performance artists rarely appear onstage at classical music events, especially those directed toward children. But somehow, it’s no surprise that the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra has tapped Jose Torres Tama as a narrator for a pair of Family Concerts on Sunday.
Louisiana Philharmonic OrchestraMollie Pate blows her French horn and lets little ones feel the vibration that the music makes before a recent Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra family concert. The LPO sets up musician stations before each family concert so that children can get a close-up view of the instruments and meet the musicians.
After all, this is the vibrant young orchestra that costumed for a Halloween Harry Potter concert in 2011, often invites children to sit onstage at youth concerts, and usually begins those shows with a pre-concert musical “petting zoo” during which children can meet orchestral players and get a close look at the instruments.
Tama fits right in with this bunch. A patriarch of the New Orleans avant-garde, Tama has honed his theatrical skills in front of some tough audiences, whether touring internationally with his one-man multimedia shows, or keeping his two sons, ages 5 and 2, entertained on the drive from Marigny to an Uptown nursery school.
With the LPO, he will narrate Stravinsky’s “Firebird” — in a version that recasts the old Russian storyline and moves it to a swamp setting. He’ll be taking his cues from LPO music director Carlos Miguel Prieto who will lead the orchestra in an English version at 2:30 p.m. and a Spanish account at 4 p.m.
“I’m thrilled to be appearing alongside Prieto. I’ve never seen a conductor so passionate, so physically involved in the music,” Tama said. “With him, I won’t be afraid to be animated, to give all the characters different voices and use what I know from the theater.”
In keeping with the theme, “Firebird and other creatures,” the LPO will round out it’s program with such popular works as Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Flight of the Bumblebee.” Lagniappe comes from Audubon Insectarium’s Bug mobile which will display live specimens outside the concert hall at Jesuit High School.
“Family concerts are about doing fun things together, and we try to keep them as interactive as possible,” said LPO managing director Babs Mollere. “For one thing, there is always a lot of back-and-forth conversation between Carlos and the audience. And the pre-concert opportunities to meet the musicians are pretty special, too.
"This past Fall, at the Potter show, one of our trombonists let kids play a duet with him on one instrument: He blew and the children got to move the slide and could feel the instrument vibrate.”
Mollere compares the mood of the family concerts to the LPO’s popular outdoor shows in area parks.
“The atmosphere is relaxed, the music is familiar, and the orchestra plays with the same energy and commitment they bring to every show,” she said. “This kind of programming also reflects the outlook of the orchestra members, who don’t see themselves as a stuffy alternative to New Orleans culture.
Louisiana Philharmonic OrchestraMollie Pate blows her French horn and lets little ones feel the vibration that the music makes before a recent Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra family concert. The LPO sets up musician stations before each family concert so that children can get a close-up view of the instruments and meet the musicians.
After all, this is the vibrant young orchestra that costumed for a Halloween Harry Potter concert in 2011, often invites children to sit onstage at youth concerts, and usually begins those shows with a pre-concert musical “petting zoo” during which children can meet orchestral players and get a close look at the instruments.
Tama fits right in with this bunch. A patriarch of the New Orleans avant-garde, Tama has honed his theatrical skills in front of some tough audiences, whether touring internationally with his one-man multimedia shows, or keeping his two sons, ages 5 and 2, entertained on the drive from Marigny to an Uptown nursery school.
With the LPO, he will narrate Stravinsky’s “Firebird” — in a version that recasts the old Russian storyline and moves it to a swamp setting. He’ll be taking his cues from LPO music director Carlos Miguel Prieto who will lead the orchestra in an English version at 2:30 p.m. and a Spanish account at 4 p.m.
“I’m thrilled to be appearing alongside Prieto. I’ve never seen a conductor so passionate, so physically involved in the music,” Tama said. “With him, I won’t be afraid to be animated, to give all the characters different voices and use what I know from the theater.”
In keeping with the theme, “Firebird and other creatures,” the LPO will round out it’s program with such popular works as Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Flight of the Bumblebee.” Lagniappe comes from Audubon Insectarium’s Bug mobile which will display live specimens outside the concert hall at Jesuit High School.
“Family concerts are about doing fun things together, and we try to keep them as interactive as possible,” said LPO managing director Babs Mollere. “For one thing, there is always a lot of back-and-forth conversation between Carlos and the audience. And the pre-concert opportunities to meet the musicians are pretty special, too.
"This past Fall, at the Potter show, one of our trombonists let kids play a duet with him on one instrument: He blew and the children got to move the slide and could feel the instrument vibrate.”
Mollere compares the mood of the family concerts to the LPO’s popular outdoor shows in area parks.
“The atmosphere is relaxed, the music is familiar, and the orchestra plays with the same energy and commitment they bring to every show,” she said. “This kind of programming also reflects the outlook of the orchestra members, who don’t see themselves as a stuffy alternative to New Orleans culture.
