Introducing Children to Live Orchestral Music

Every year The Pioneer Valley Symphony presents educational concerts for grade school students in Greenfield and Northampton. Fully enrolled every year, with waiting lists of more than two hundred children, the concert brings 1000 third and fourth-grade students to a performance by the full orchestra at Greenfield High School. Hundreds more attend the concert at JFK Middle School. The morning concert follows a six-week curriculum in the schools, with materials developed and distributed by PVS. These instructional materials include a 16-page student workbook, a supplementary teacher’s guide, and a compact disc recording of the works to be heard at the concert. An important part of classroom preparation brings musicians into the classroom to demonstrate their instruments, giving children a chance to see the instruments at close proximity. The school program is an essential part of our work in the community. In fulfilling our stated mission and goals, the PVS is proud to play a role in introducing young children to live symphonic music through our music education programs. We are particularly grateful to the Mary Stuart Rogers Foundation for their generous support of this vital program.

All season long, the Pioneer Valley Symphony offers parents an unusually affordable vehicle for introducing their children to fine symphonic music. Tickets for children 18 and under are always $5.00. The importance of music and its ability to transform a young life cannot be underestimated. Music education can and does make a difference!