Virginia Tech’s Wind Ensemble will perform “Wild Symphony” by Dan Brown, author of “The Da Vinci Code,” on Sunday, March 2, at 2 p.m. at the Moss Arts Center.
The inspiration for the concert material came to Derek Shapiro, director of bands and assistant professor of music in the School of Performing Arts, from an unusual place: the children’s section of a local bookstore.
While looking for books for his 7-year-old, Shapiro’s wife, who teaches elementary music at Gilbert Linkous Elementary School in Blacksburg, found a copy of “Wild Symphony,” a book about a group of animals preparing for a concert. Brown, the author and composer, created a score of 21 original compositions that embody the personalities of each animal in the book.
As he read the book to his son, Shapiro had an idea. He said, “This would be cool to perform onstage. And then I looked into it, and it was a thing we could do.”
The multi-layered performance experience will be conducted by Shapiro and narrated by Alumni Distinguished Professor Patricia Raun, a member of the theatre arts faculty and director of the Center for Communicating Science. Videos based on the book’s illustrations will also accompany the performance.
Attendees should come early, as activities for all ages will be available in the lobby of the Moss Arts Center half an hour before the performance, including character cutouts, robots from the Mind Music Machine Lab, and a “conduct me” station where participants will have an opportunity to lead a small group of Virginia Tech’s string players.
These collaborative efforts and pre-concert opportunities are crucial to the entire experience. “The only way this type of event could happen was if we had community participation — the partnership with Blacksburg Books, the Mind Music Machine Lab, and students, and their excitement about the opportunity is part of what makes this possible,” said Shapiro.
Audience excitement and participation is encouraged during the event. “If the audience sees something they like, it’s OK to clap or have an emotional response to something,” Shapiro said. “At classical music concerts, we’re so scared of making noise or emoting — it’s important that if kids see something they like, they can react to something.”
The concert will conclude with a selection of music from the original Star Wars trilogy. “Everybody gets a chance to play,” said Shapiro. “The goal of this event is for us all to see ourselves as concert goers, music lovers, and arts patrons. It’s about opening doors. Classical music can and should be fun for people. They should feel able to go to a concert and enjoy what’s happening on stage.”
The performance will be held on Sunday, March 2, at 2 p.m. in the Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre, Moss Arts Center, 190 Alumni Mall.
Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for seniors, and $10 for students with special family pricing: buy one adult ticket, get one student ticket free. Tickets may be purchased through the Moss Arts Center ticket office.
Katie Beazley, Virginia Tech graduate student in applied theatre and public dialogue in the School of Performing Arts
