One of the most popular pieces ever composed for children, Sergey Prokofiev's Peter and The Wolf will be performed on Saturday, April 26, at 11 a.m. and Saturday, May 3, at 11 a.m. at Benaroya Hall. Associate Conductor Carolyn Kuan and the Orchestra will be joined by KIRO radio host Dave Ross on April 26 and Moyer Foundation co-founder Karen Moyer on May 3.
Ross and Moyer will narrate this classic children's tale. Concert-goers can enjoy Columbia Choirs of Metropolitan Seattle under director Steve Stevens during pre-concert activities in the Samuel and Althea Stroum Grand Lobby beginning at 10 a.m.
Dave Ross was born and raised in Yorktown, New York. His radio career began in high school when he worked evenings and summers as an announcer for WVIP AM and FM in Mt. Kisco, New York. While attending Cornell University, Dave served as the news director of WTKO Radio, a small station in Ithaca, New York. Dave began his full-time career as a reporter for WSB Radio in Atlanta, where he worked until joining KIRO in 1978. Dave and his wife, Patti, have two daughters, Caitlin and Emilie.
Karen Moyer and her husband, Major League All-Star pitcher Jamie Moyer, are recognized throughout the Northwest for their outstanding commitment to children's causes through their work on behalf of The Moyer Foundation — helping children in distress. In addition to her work on behalf of the Foundation, Karen also serves as a board member for numerous health and children's organizations, is a dedicated mother of seven children, and is the owner of her own cycling studio in Magnolia. Karen's work is guided by her belief that every child deserves a chance to lead a safe, happy and healthy life.
The Moyer Foundation was founded in 2000 by Major League All-Star pitcher Jamie Moyer and his wife, Karen. The Foundation's mission is to provide comfort and support to children enduring a time of profound physical, emotional or financial distress. With the community's support, The Moyer Foundation has raised more than $14 million to assist over 140 different organizations that serve the needs of children in severe distress.
Sergey Prokofiev's Peter and The Wolf tells the Russian folk tale of a precocious young boy's woodland adventures. Prokofiev composed the work for orchestra and narrator, and identified each character in the story with a particular instrument and musical theme: Peter is represented by the strings, the duck by the oboe, the wolf by the French horns, etc. Since the work's premiere in 1936, it has seen countless adaptations and recordings, including a popular Walt Disney animated short and recordings featuring narrators as diverse as Bill Clinton, Sophia Loren, Patrick Stewart, Mikhail Gorbachev, David Bowie and Sean Connery, to name a few.
Discover Music! Enhancement Classes also will be offered in conjunction with Peter and The Wolf on Sunday, April 20, at 2 p.m. Each session lasts one hour and includes games and crafts based on the concert theme. Classes are held in Soundbridge Seattle Symphony Music Discovery Center and are limited to 20 students. Call (206) 336-6600 for more information.
The Discover Music! series is designed for children ages 5 to 12 and their families. Subscriptions are still available for the remaining two concerts. Tickets are sold in either a series package or individually per concert, for $20 per adult and $15 per child/senior.
Carolyn Kuan
In 2004, the Washington Post heralded Carolyn Kuan's Kennedy Center debut with the National Symphony Orchestra, noting, "It is exciting news when any young conductor makes a debut with a major ensemble. Kuan won her case." An advocate of new music, Kuan has served as Assistant Conductor for the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music under Music Director Marin Alsop since 2003. Recently, she led four world premieres in Merkin Hall in New York for Music for Japan. She was an Artist-in-Residence at the New York City Ballet in 2004 and 2005, and joined Seattle Symphony in September 2006. In 2003, Kuan became the first female to be awarded the Herbert von Karajan Conducting Fellowship by the Herbert von Karajan Centrum and American Austrian Foundation, which resulted in her residency at the 2004 Salzburg Festival. Kuan was named the first Taki Concordia Fellow in 2003 and has received awards from the Women's Philharmonic, the Conductors Guild, the Kate Neal Kinley Memorial Fellowship and the Susan W. Rose Fund for Music. -- www.seattlesymphony.org
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