Sydney Youth Orchestra – 2008 Winter Family Concert

image courtesy of SYO

On Saturday I gathered my family together for an afternoon of culture at the Conservatorium of Music for the Sydney Youth Orchestra Winter Family Concert. The afternoon started well as the building looks like a castle and castles are big in our house at the moment. It continued to go well as the boys (3 & 5) proudly clutched their tickets and headed for their seats. Fortunately we were in the back row so the squirming of the three year old didn’t disturb anyone’s viewing.

The first band arrived and played two movements of a symphony. (I apologise for my lack of details but between the tickets, the castle and the trips to the toilet I neglected to pick up a programme). My boys were rapt. My partner and I held hands and felt proud to be exposing our children to such wonders. The band finished. We all clapped. They left and another arrived. This one was predominantly violins and they proceeded to play charmingly. My eyes were drawn to the little ones whose toes couldn’t reach the floor. They finished. We all clapped again.

The second band left and the third arrived. This was too much for my three year old. He took his father outside to play castles while my older son and I continued to watch.

The fourth band was a real band, lots of brass and very loud. Too loud for my sensitive five year old who began covering his ears and asking when we could leave. We left at intermission.

In the postmortem discussion it was suggested that it’s probably better to expose children to music by getting them doing it rather than watching it but I thought it would be exciting for them to see young people playing a variety of instruments. And I think it was. For a little while.

The concert was a fairly casual affair and it was perfectly acceptable to leave between orchestras so I did not leave feeling we were badly behaved but instead that we gave it a good try.

I think youth orchestras are always worth a listen. The quality of performance is usually high and the music is often approached in a more lighthearted manner. Sydney Youth Orchestra Family concerts are an inexpensive and casual way to introduce your children to orchestral music and I recommend you also give it a try. Particularly if your children are over five or like castles.

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Upcoming SYO performances
SPRING FAMILY CONCERT
Sunday 13 September 2008 at 3pmVerbrugghen Hall, Sydney Conservatorium
Presented by Sydney Youth Orchestras
Tickets Adult $22 Concession $12 Family $58 (2 adults and 2 concessions)
Bookings City Recital Hall Angel PlaceBook online here or call 8256 2222

Toddler Proms
Sunday 16th November 2008 9:30AM
Sydney's best orchestral experience for young people aged 2-7!
$9 (groups of 4 or more)Under 2s admitted free of charge
Bookings City Recital Hall Angel Place Book online here or call 8256 2222

Ipswich Art Gallery Holiday Workshops - QLD

Ipswich Art Gallery is holding a number of free workshops for kids these school holidays. The workshops will cover circus skills, drumming, recycled art and relaxation/meditation. You do not need to book your attendance at the workshops which span the period of 30 June - 11 July. See this page on the Ipswich Art Gallery website for more details.

2008 Biennale of Sydney - NSW

The 2008 Biennale of Sydney - Australias Festival of Contemporary Art.
18 June - 17 September 2008

Revolting Kids! Treasure Map
Available every day from July to September on arrival at Cockatoo Island. Follow the trail and find the clues that lead you on a hunt for specially chosen artworks found on Cockatoo Island.
Cockatoo Island
WHEN:Tuesday, 1 July 200810:00am - 5:00pm
WHERE:Cockatoo IslandCockatoo Island, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia

Kids & Families: Interactive art
Explore contemporary art with Open Stage, using imaginative, explorative, improvisational storytelling.
Monday, 7 July – Friday, 11 July, 1:30pm
Art Gallery of New South Wales
WHEN:Monday, 7 July 20081:30pm
WHERE:Art Gallery of New South WalesArt Gallery Rd, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia

Art Revolutions School Holiday Workshops
Discover the Biennale with art activities responding to the themes of turning, twisting, inverting and mirroring. Led by artists, these fun workshops start with an exhibition tour followed by activities ranging from drawing games to sculpture.
Materials and morning tea provided.
Tuesday, 8 July (5–7 year olds), 10:30am – 1:00 pm Wednesday, 9 July (8–11 year olds), 10:30am – 1:00 pmThursday, 10 July (Teenagers), 10:30am – 1:00 pm$30/$20 Members Bookings essential
Museum of Contemporary Art
WHEN:Tuesday, 8 July 200810:30am - 1:00pm
WHERE:Museum of Contemporary Art140 George Street, The Rocks, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia
HOW MUCH:$30.00 BOOKING:
Book through the Museum of Contemporary Art:mailto:education@mca.com.au

Little Big Shots reviewing comp extended - VIC

Little Big Shots Film reviewing competition extended!
To give those who attend Little Big Shots in Frankston and Warrnambool the chance to enter the competition, LBS have extended the closing date for entries until after the school holidays on Monday July 14, 2008.

So if you thought you'd missed the chance to submit a review this year, now's the time to crank up the computer and start scribing!

The 10 best junior critics will win a spot on the 2009 Little Big Shots children's jury and a season pass to next year's festival, as well as see their winning reviews published up on the Little Big Shots website.
For more information and full program visit: www.littlebigshots.com.au

Five tips for a top-notch film review from www.littlebigshots.com.au

1. Lights, action, camera … and a long line of credits. Plenty of people and decisions influence how a film is made. The film you see on screen is the result of a big creative jigsaw. Script, sound, storyline, directors, actors, lighting, sets, editing – all the people in that long line of credits at the end of a film play a role. Pick out some of the elements of the film you respond to most and explain why they do or don’t work.

2. Don’t give away the plot. This is a key rule of reviewing. Feel free to explain a little about the plot but don’t reveal any of the surprises or major twist, even if Sam does fall in love with Mary at the end.

3. Hook us in! Starting your review with “This film is about …” doesn’t exactly scream “Read me!” Make your reader sit up and pay attention to what you’re about to say. Write creatively and sharply and ask yourself, is this good enough for the rest of the world to read? Hook us in and keep us there.

4. How good were the stars? Think about the performances of the lead actors. Did they do a good job? Were they believable? Did they “get under the skin” of their role or did you feel like you were always watching “the actor”? Did you like the characters and did you care about what happened to them in the film? Tell us!

5. How did the film make you feel? Filmmakers want audiences to respond to their film. Pay attention to how you’re feeling while you’re watching a film. Are you happy, sad, bored, excited, inspired? Maybe your responses change at different points of the film. What’s making you feel that way? And what’s your overall feeling by the time it’s all over.
from www.littlebigshots.com.au

Where is Winkys horse - SFF review

Where is Winkys Horse
Director - Mischa Kamp ; Country - Belgium, The Netherlands

On the last day of the Sydney Film Festival we caught the magical film, "Where is Winkys Horse". Although the film is in Dutch and does have subtitles, the festival provided a voice over for the smaller children to enjoy the film.

All my children enjoyed this film (10, 6 and 4 years). The film is based around Winky and her life in The Netherlands. In the first film "Winkys Horse" we watch Winky trying to adapt into a new environment. Winky is Chinese. In this sequel Winky is more confident and has the task of looking after Sintaklauses horse. (Sinta Kalus is the Dutch version of Santa Claus.) The film has themes of friendships, family and responsibility.

My family and I enjoyed the selection of films on offer this year at the festival.
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Sydney Film Festival News
Audience Award: Feature at Satellite Venues - Red Like the Sky Cristiano Bortone's captivating story, based on one of Italy's leading sound editors, Mirco Mencacci, of a blind boy's passion to become a sound engineer. Red Like the Sky was part of the Accessible Cinema program, and children could also go along to this film.

Rosso come il cielo - SFF review

Red Like the Sky
Director - Cristiano Bortone; Country - Italy

My son (10) and I had a very special evening when we saw Red like the sky(Rosso come il cielo) at the Sydney Film Festival. Red like the sky is a very memorable film about growing up. The film is inspired by the true story of Mirco Mencacci, one of the most renowned sound editors in Italian cinema, who happens to be blind.

Micro loses his sight by an unfortunate accident which leads him to a school for the blind. Here Micro battles with accepting he longer has the ability to see the world as he once had.
The film progresses with the friendships he makes and how he overcomes losing one sense and gaining superity over another, Sound.

My son was only one of two children in the full cinema which was a bit disheartening. I feel that this film will always stay with my son.
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Next Screening:
21st June 12.15PM GU George Street

Yo Picasso Kids - Qld

Yo Picasso Kids is on at the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane, from 9 June - 14 September 2008.

Children have the opportunity to make paper masks using pencils, scissors and elastic, and paper sculptures as shown in the photo accompanying this post.

Yo Picasso Kids is not particularly inclusive of younger age groups but from my obsevations the 5-8 year old groups enjoyed themselves.

For secondary school students the GOMA has an I Love Art History program to develop an understanding of the Picasso and his Collection exhibition from an historical perspective.

Entires close 30 June - Film Festival for children and young adults

Auburn Film Festival for Children and Young Adults was established in 1998 as a screen culture and audience development initiative. The festival is a platform to present works that are made by children (6-14 years old), youth (15-22 years old) as well as adults whose works are about or for children and youth.

Entry
The festival requires no entry fee. The festival accepts all genres and lengths and has no particular selection criteria for the way content is presented. The festival aims to create a venue for the unseen and seen contemporary cultures globally.

The following items must be submitted before the final selection:
1 On-Line Entry Form ONLY
2. DVD Screener PAL/NTSC
3. A Still of the film
All works must be either in English or have English subtitles. Works without dialogue are also accepted. The closing date is June 30, 2008. All works must be registered on-line before the closing date.

For more information contact : CineWest
Email mailto:festival@cinewest.org.auWebsite: http://www.cinewest.org.au/

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Festival Dates:
September 15-19, 2008

Son of Rambow - SFF review

Son of Rambow
Director - Garth Jennings; Country - France, United Kingdom

Last weekend we saw our first film within the kids strand of the Sydney Film Festival. We were not disappointed.

Son of Rambow is set in the 80s and is about two boys who form an unlikely friendship and team up to make their own film based on Rambo. The highlight of the film for my children (10 and 6) were the scenes that involved the film making. I loved going to see a film with my children that did not rely on computer generated graphics to tell a story.

Themes within the film include friendship, family and following your creativity. When we got home my six year old dragged out the video camera and has not put it down since.

This film is suited to older children as there is some mild language.

Other films within the festival we are not going to miss are Red Like the Sky and Where is Winkys Horse. ** Tickets for children are only $7.00.

Next Screening of Son of Rambow:
22 June 2008 1.45PM Dendy Opera Quays

What Does Red do on Thursday? Review

We saw the performance What Does Red do on Thursday? at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre today as part of the Out of the Box Festival.


The piece was performed by Joachim Torbahn, one of the founders of the German touring performance company Thalias Kompagnons.

The performance revolved around a transparent canvas, in a darkened room, and told the story of a red dot. Torbahn's narration was minimal. He told us that the story was in seven chapters, and at the start of each chapter he explained in a few words what red was about to do.

The story of red then came alive as Torbahn stood behind the transparent canvas and painted each chapter to classical music.

The children in the audience were entranced with the performance from start to end, gasping when Torbahn used a huge paint brush, spontaneously clapping when he painted something impressive, and calling out the names of things they recognised.

The Out of the Box Festival is a highly organised event and despite the crowds of children its attracting, we had no trouble with parking, eating or moving around with a double stroller!

If you live in South East Queensland I highly recommend you go to Southbank this weekend, book yourselves a ticket to What Does Red do on Thursday? and take in the free events which are spread around the arts complexes.

55th Sydney Film Festival

Son Of Rambow

The Sydney Film Festival is once again upon us and have as like last year put together a great selection of films for families.

Opening the kids strand of the festival is the highly commercial Kung Fu Panda. If you go past the opening night film you will find some real treasures for your family. We are looking forward to the sequel to Winkys Horse (screened last year) 'Where is Winkys Horse?' (6+)

Red like the Sky and Son like Rambow are suited to older children (8+) giving them a chance to see thought provoking cinema. For younger children the strand features A Tale of two Mozzies(5+) from Denmark and Go West! A Lucky Luke Adventure (7+) from France.

A tale of two Mozzies and Where is Winkys Horse will be presented with a live voice over.

Son of Rambow
Director - Garth Jennings; Country - France, United Kingdom
9 June 200812.00PM State Theatre
22 June 2008 1.45PM Dendy Opera Quays

Red Like the Sky
Director - Cristiano Bortone; Country - Italy
19 June 2008 6.45PM GU George Street
21 June 2008 12.15PM GU George Street

Where is Winky's Horse?
Director - Mischa Kamp ; Country - Belgium, The Netherlands
15 June 2008 2.15PM GU George Street
22 June 2008 12.00PM GU George

A Tale of Two Mozzies
Director - Jannik Hastrup, Flemming Quist Møller; Country - Denmark
9 June 2008 2.00PM GU George Street
14 June 2008 1.45PM GU George Street

Go West! A Lucky Luke Adventure
Director - Olivier Jean-Marie; Country - France
15 June 2008 12.00PM GU George Street

Australian Institute of Music

Music lessons for 3-5 year olds.

My three year old son and I trekked off last Saturday morning for a music lesson at the Australian Institute of Music (AIM). AIM is located near Central Station and was easy to get to although a little harder to get away from.

The music lesson was run by Bronwyn, a very charming and enthusiastic woman, who allowed me to sit in on the class even though parents are usually ushered out of the room for all but the last few minutes of the lesson.

The lesson ran for almost an hour and included a story about Mozart, singing, rhythm games, instrument recognition games and playing music blocks which are a bit like a xylophone that you can take apart. My five year old would have loved it.

Unfortunately this was not a lesson designed for three year olds so my son spent much of the lesson on my lap. Three year old and four year old lessons were previously held on Fridays with five year old lessons held on Saturday mornings.

After the class Bronwyn explained the three year old class structure which is very different and involves one narrative theme per term through which basic music elements are then taught.

There are weekly concerts for students to participate in and many avenues for musical growth whatever your child’s musical interest.

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For more information visit YAIM or contact Tony Ingersent
AIM
1-51 Foveaux Street,
Surry Hills, NSW, 2010.
(02) 9219 5436

Out of the Box - Opens 10 June in Brisbane

From 10-15 June 2008 the Cultural Centre venues of Southbank are hosting the ninth Out of the Box Festival.

The Out of the Box Festival offers a broad arts experience for 3 - 8 year olds. The theme of this 2008 festival is Sharing our Stories and children and their carers can choose to experience a variety of performances, workshops and exhibitions.

I am hoping to take my two kids to Thalias Kompagnons' performance What Does Red do on Thursday , and the My Style workshop with Shilo Engelbrecht.

Visit the Out of the Box festival website to buy tickets for performances and workshops and plan which free events to attend.

Gwyn