The next Dizzy Gillespie may well be sitting in the music class at Hall-Dale Elementary School in Hallowell. If so, the Portland Symphony Orchestra wants to help the star-in-waiting find his place behind the mouthpiece.

The orchestra is sending its brass section to central Maine next week to perform concerts with students in Cynthia McGuire’s music classes. On Monday evening, the PSO’s Brass Quintet will perform a pair of concerts at Cony High School in Augusta. McGuire’s students will sing along with the quintet.

The concerts are at Cony instead of Hall-Dale because the Cony auditorium accommodates larger crowds. The performances are open to the public.

“There are so many students who wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity to make music or even hear music made by a professional brass quintet,” said McGuire. “It’s part of my job to provide them with these opportunities. Maybe it will spark an interest for them to go to future concerts or maybe play an instrument. Especially at a young age, when you hear someone who knows how to play an instrument well, that provides the inspiration necessary to begin playing.”

Monday’s PSO brass concerts are one of several orchestra initiatives to bring music to the schools. The orchestra also presents a KinderKonzert series that travels to schools across the region.

This fall, the KinderKonzerts focus on stringed instruments and feature a newly commissioned work by Maine composer Delvyn Case inspired by the story of Maine lighthouse keeper Abbie Burgess. With the drama of music, “Strings: The Story of Abbie Burgess” tells of a raging storm and the brave young girl who kept the lighthouse illuminated.

The series began last week and continues today in Waldoboro before moving to Gorham, Saco, Portland, Brunswick and Scarborough through the middle of November.

On Nov. 9, the PSO presents a pair of sold-out Youth Concerts at Merrill Auditorium. These shows are condensed versions of PSO mainstage concerts and targeted to kids. They’re scheduled for 9:30 and 11:10 a.m.

The Hall-Dale concerts are different from the other youth-oriented efforts of the PSO because students will join the musicians on stage. McGuire met with the PSO during the summer to select songs for the concert, then taught her students their singing parts.

“We’ve taken the kids to the KinderKonzerts before, but we’ve never given them the experience of making music with professional musicians,” she said.

The concerts stemmed from an effort of the school’s parent-teacher organization, said Maria Fuentes, co-president. The PTO approached the orchestra and negotiated to bring the quintet to central Maine.

Jim Wallace, a school parent, suggested the partnership with the PSO.

“We were shooting for the best musical example in the state of Maine. When you think about that, it’s got to be the PSO,” he said. “This is a great opportunity for our kids to rehearse with professional musicians and then go out on stage and perform with them. When do you get, as a little kid, the opportunity to perform with a group of professional musicians in front of 900 people? You just don’t.”

 Staff Writer Bob Keyes can be contacted at 791-6457 or at: bkeyes@pressherald.com

 

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