The Midcoast Symphony Orchestra is back for another season, hoping to get more younger people involved with orchestral music through hands-on experience.
Kids and adults have the opportunity to attend a “Meet the Instruments” event one hour before each Midcoast Symphony Orchestra performance. Around 17 instruments, including string bass, woodwind and brass, are set out for the kids and parents to try out.
Band members volunteering for “Meet the Instruments” are often section leaders or band members, such as Tim Kenlan on trumpet, Patsy Dickinson on cello, and percussion with Anne-Marie D’Amico and Carol Preston.
“Most performing organizations are noticing that finally, our attendance is going back up to pre-COVID times,” said Preston, Midcoast Symphony Orchestra concert master and treasurer.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Midcoast Symphony Orchestra had to cancel concerts between 2020 and 2022. Then, in 2023, the orchestra returned to slightly diminished crowds for concerts but has steadily picked back up.
Preston said the same happened for “Meet the Instruments” last year. There were around 165 attendees in 2024, compared to over 200 people in 2020. The orchestral band has been doing “Meet the Instruments” since 2017, starting in a small hallway in Mt. Ararat Middle School. Only six instruments, such as violin, cell, and trumpet, were represented at the time.
“Meet the Instruments” took place last weekend for the first time this year in the basement of Heritage Hall before MSO’s performance at the Franco Center in Lewiston and at Mt. Ararat Middle School in the gymnasium adjacent to the Orion Performing Arts Center.
“Many of us have taught music before, so we are used to helping people who have never touched an instrument before just sort of to make some initial noise or have some fun on it,” Preston said.
Parents who bring their kids to the “Meet the Instruments” can attend the concert that follows with two free adult tickets if they fill out a form before the concert. The theme for the concert this year is instruments that sound like water, along with artwork displayed on a screen behind the performers from students in the area from elementary to high school age.
The music pieces will be much shorter than a typical 30-minute symphony to grab the attention of younger audiences. One of the more unique pieces is “And God Created Great Whales,” which has the orchestra playing various sounds associated with whale songs, with recordings of whales added to the music composition.
“We are totally a community orchestra, which means we are unpaid, but as we like to say, ‘We play above our pay scale,'” Preston said.
“Meet the Instruments” was created out of the MSO Board of Directors’ desire to do more outreach to the public. After the first year, the event grew substantially through word of mouth. Another outreach initiative, which Heather Linkin helped start, is featuring young performers during concert intermission. On Jan. 18 at the Franco Center, clarinetist Noah Smith performed.
The orchestra hopes that younger people will become interested in picking up an instrument for the family-oriented “Meet the Instruments.”
“We are glad to give [the later concert] a try and kind of not sure how an evening hour will work for some younger kids, but this isn’t meant just to be for kids. It’s for any age,” Preston said.
The Midcoast Symphony Orchestra performs four regular concerts each season at the Franco Center in Lewiston and the Orion Performing Arts Center in Topsham. It draws players and audiences from Portland to Rockland.
Tickets for a single concert are $25 in advance and $30 at the door. This season, however, they are free for audience members 25 years old and under.
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