Carnival of the Animals, the classic work by French composer Camille Saint-Saëns, is the focus of SSOPlayOn! Musical Soundbites, a new series of online video series for children by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra.
SSOPlayOn! Musical Soundbites: Orchestral Adventures
Every Sunday at 3 pm, SSOPlayOn! Musical Soundbites provides children with an introduction to the much-loved classical work. The first episode premiered on 31 May. Four more episode have been lined up for the rest of June 2020.
SSOPlayOn! Musical Soundbites is hosted by conductor Jessica Gethin.
Jessica was originally supposed to be in Singapore earlier this year in March to conduct the Concerts for Children: Journey Around the World. Unfortunately, the concert had to be cancelled because of the COVID-19 situation.
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Carnival of the Animals by Saint-Saëns
With the new Singapore Symphony Orchestra series for children, she takes the audience at home on a journey through Carnival of the Animals with music performed by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra.
In this digital format, she breaks down the instrumentation of the piece and provides children with a closer look at Saint-Saëns’ music.
The Carnival of the Animals suite is made up of fourteen movements. Composed in 1886, each of the movements represents a different animal or set of animals.
Join in the Music
In the first episode of SSOPlayOn! Musical Soundbites, Jessica introduces the first and second movements, the Royal March of the Lion, and Hens and Cocks. The episode is last just over 13 minutes.
As the music plays, there are suggested activities for children to get more intimately involved with the music and orchestration.
Jessica also helps break down the composition, pointing out intricacies of the music and providing peeks into the composer’s score.
Viewers can also send in questions they may have to be addressed.
Singapore Symphony Orchestra’s Musical Soundbites
Upcoming Musical Soundbites episodes include:
7 June: Wild Asses, Tortoises, Elephants
14 June: Kangaroos, Aquariums, Persons with Long Ears
21 June: The Cuckoo, The Aviary, Pianists
28 June: Fossils, The Swans
The videos are available on the Singapore Symphony Orchestra’s Facebook page and YouTube channel.
