The Little Orchestra Society- Orpheon Inc

Programs: Family concertsin 2016-17, the little orchestra society/orpheon, inc. (los) performed the second season of the highly successful los kids, a concert series for children ages 3-10. Each concert focused on one or two composers. In its second season los kids featured four programs at the kaye playhouse at hunter college, bringing vivaldi, beethoven, felix and fanny mendelssohn and bernstein into the concert hall as composer/characters to introduce young children to some of the extraordinary music that made each of them famous. Concerts were performed as follows (with two or three performances each day): vivaldi, november 12-13, 2016; beethoven, december 17-18, 2016; fanny and felix mendelssohn, february 11-13, 2017; and bernstein, march 4-5, 2017. The vivaldi program featured excerpts from works including the four seasons, concerto for two guitars, and concerto for two trumpets. The beethoven program featured excerpts from works including the leonora overture, moonlight sonata, an aria from fidelio and symphony no. 5. The mendelssohn program included excerpts from a midsummer night's dream, songs without words, and fingal's cave overture. The bernstein program featured excerpts from works including the candide overture, west side story, symphony no. 2, and mass. In addition to the public performances on the mondays following each program weekend, the programs each began with an open dress rehearsal, attended by underserved young people who participated in los music education and community engagement programs. The los kids season included four open dress rehearsals, four public service performances, and 18 family performances. Total attendance for these programs was 16,224- more than one-third of the audience attended free as they would otherwise not have been able to afford the tickets. Los music director james judd created all of the programs in partnership with los staff and our creative team and conducted the beethoven, mendelssohn and bernstein programs; joseph young, assistant conductor of the atlanta symphony orchestra, conducted the vivaldi program. Each of these new los kids programs featured actors; video components; performances by accomplished young soloists along with our professional orchestra; and an original script by longtime children's television writer craig shemin - all designed to enhance audience engagement with the great orchestral music that is at the core of all los performances. Pre-concert educational activities took place in the lobby, and pre-and post-concert discovery guides were provided to audience members on-line to enhance and deepen their concert-going experience. Los maintained its ticket prices for the entire 2016-17 season in order to make the best in orchestral music more accessible to children and families throughout the new york metropolitan area, and beyond.

public service programs los's music education and community engagement initiatives include: musical connections: the school partnership program (musical connections), live in concert! , and project 65plus, as well as other programs. Musical connections is a music composition residency program that provides music education and concert experiences for underserved new york city public school students in grades k-5, as well as their teachers, families, and school communities. The program consists of: in-school residency sessions with an los teaching artist that utilize music composition to teach the elements of music; attendance at los kids weekday dress rehearsals and the public service performance at the kaye playhouse at hunter college to connect composition to live orchestral performances; workshops with the los education staff before and after each concert hall visit to prepare for and review concert going experiences; a school-day celebration event where students' collaborative class compositions are performed by professional musicians; professional development and planning meetings for classroom teachers with los education staff; curriculum materials for each concert for classroom teachers; a program orientation including composition activities for families of participating students led by los education staff; and weekend performance tickets for parents, caregivers, and students to attend live orchestral performances together. The 2016-2017 partner schools were ps 24x in riverdale, the bronx; ps 122q in astoria, queens; ps 1x in the bronx; ps 56 in brooklyn and ps 125m in harlem, manhattan. A total of 3,515 teachers, students and families participated in musical connections. Live in concert! Is an los community engagement program that provides access to members of the new york city community to attend weekday open dress rehearsals, public service performances, and weekend performances of the los kids series without charge. This program provides opportunities for students from underserved public schools and children in publicly-funded day care centers and social service agencies, as well as their families, who would otherwise have little or no contact with classical music. Educational resource materials are provided to help parents, teachers and program leaders in preparing and enhancing the concert experience for their students and children. A total of 1975 children and adults participated in this program in 2016-2017. Project 65plus is a community engagement program through which los seeks to provide engagement and outreach opportunities for the growing number of underserved seniors in new york city. In this program, the orchestra recognizes: 1) seniors as individuals by highlighting the importance of lifelong learning in the rapidly expanding senior population, and 2) seniors as caregivers by highlighting the increasing number of grandparents who are the primary caregivers for children. Through project 65plus and with the help of various public and social service organizations, senior new yorkers are provided free tickets to attend weekday dress rehearsals, public service performances, and weekend performances of los kids with the children in their care. A total of 160 senior new yorkers were invited to participate in this program in 2016-2017. In 2016-17, los continued its two after-school programs at ps 122q in astoria and ps 96x in the central bronx, and began a new program at ps 56k in clinton hill in brooklyn with support from the new york city council's cultural after-school adventures (casa) program. The total number of participants in all los after school programs in 2016-2017 equaled 178. These new programs are based on the musical connections model and provide intensive afterschool learning for students in grades 3-5 who have participated in prior years in the school day musical connections program. In addition, we broadened our reach by offering a program series at a public housing facility, and continued with public libraries and senior centers, and by participating in events ranging from new york city parks to community street fairs in various locations in manhattan, queens and brooklyn. Further, in 2016-17, we began a year-long series of 72 workshops at the brooklyn children's museum in crown heights. In 2016-17, the total number of participants in all community engagement programs equaled 21,151.

other program services each fiscal year, los creates new concert programs for the current season as well as for several following seasons. Additionally, it is necessary to plan our music education and community engagement programs several years in advance. Other program services cover both personnel expenses and other than personnel services (otps) for these program activities.