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The Valparaiso High School Chamber Orchestra hosted a fabulous musical and dramatic presentation for 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders in the Valparaiso Community School district called the Young People's Concert. Every year, the Young People's Concerts have a particular theme and are designed to appeal to elementary-aged children. This year, the enjoyable presentation put on by the high school orchestra was themed "Music in a Time Capsule", which featured classical works from the early 1700's to the 1920's. Several special guests also contributed to the presentation including Michael Linert who played cello, Despina Amanatidis, a business teacher at VHS, sang soprano, and Cooks Corner Elementary Principal, Thomas Wisch, played the part of "Antonio Vivaldi", known as one of the greatest composers of the Baroque era.
"I want kids to walk away from here knowing that a symphony orchestra is something that is alive and well today," said Tim Kopf, Orchestra Director for the high school.
Making up the dramatic part of the concert, different characters featured as famous composers in the past would converse with the audience, not only making it more entertaining for the children but also bringing forth different musical terms so that students would learn something about the music they're listening to. The high school orchesta was very talented and focused as well, and the whole presentation was very creative and well-organized. Besides Antonio Vivaldi, works were performed from famous composers such as Luigi Boccherini, Ludwig van Beethoven, and George Gershwin.
"My biggest hope would be that there are some kids in the audience today that had their imaginations or their skills or their talents awakened," said Kopf. "And maybe there's a kid in today's audience who will be writing music for us to perform in the 21st century."