A Unique Event Mixes Music and a Petting Zoo

Families recently visited the University of Redlands Memorial Chapel to hear a family concert and check out an "instrument petting zoo" allowing children to try their hand at different instruments. Grady Hutt led the families on a musical safari and though the power of music and imagination, explored the animal kingdom together. He told them to close their eyes imagine a bird flying across the sky while the musicians played. Hutt asked the kids what kind of animals they liked and what kind of animal they could pretend to be. The children answered with several animals including tigers, dolphins and giraffes. For the grand finale Hutt told the children to listen as all the instruments came together to see what animals they could hear. In attendance was Barbara Gates, whose son and four-year-old granddaughter, Audrey, were visiting from San Diego for the weekend, who shared that her granddaughter has, “Leber Congenital Amaurosis which is a genetic mutation that causes blindness, and this is her first indoor concert.” Audrey enjoyed the concert and was, “clapping along”, and said "Bravo" at the end. A University of Redlands faculty member came to the concert with her husband and two sons and said, “both kids liked it and thought it was cool, it’s nice to have the support of the community and have the kids come out and expose them to the arts.” The purpose of the instrument petting zoo was to have children try out different instruments they may not have had the chance to play otherwise. As the children were trying out instruments, Clark’s Nutrition and Health Market handed out fruit, trail mix and water to event attendees. Jamie Sachs was handing out snacks as people passed by and is the Patrons Services Coordinator for the Redlands Symphony. She said, “It gives the community a chance to try the instruments and see the playful side of the symphony.” [END] Families attended the University of Redlands Memorial Chapel on Sunday April, 6 to hear a family concert and check out an instrument petting zoo for children to try out different instruments. Grady Hutt led the families on a safari where they heard animals and though the power of music and imagination, explored the animal kingdom together. He told them to close their eyes imagine a bird flying across the sky while the musicians played. Some kids did close their eyes to hear the music as members of the orchestra played classical pieces. Hutt asked the kids what kind of animals they liked and what kind of animal they could be and the children answered with several animals, some of them being a tiger, dolphin, or a giraffe. It ended with a grand finale and Hutt told the children to listen to see what animals they could hear as all the instruments came together. In attendance was Barbara Gates whose son and 4 year granddaughter, Audrey, were visiting from San Diego for the weekend. She said her granddaughter has, “Leber Congenital Amaurosis which is a genetic mutation that causes blindness, and this is her first indoor concert.” Audrey enjoyed the concert and was, “clapping along”, and said "Bravo" at the end. A University of Redlands faculty member came with her husband and two sons to the concert and said, “both kids liked it and thought it was cool, it’s nice to have the support of the community and have the kids come out and expose them to the arts, it’s also one of the things, the University is known for so it’s nice to have the collaboration between the University and the community.” The purpose of the instrument petting zoo was to have children try out different instruments they may not have had the chance to play before or be exposed too. As the children were trying out instruments, Clark’s Nutrition and Health Market were handing out fruit, trail mix and water to people as they wandered around. Jamie Sachs was handing out snacks as people passed by and is the Patrons Services Coordinator for the Redlands Symphony. She said, “It gives the community a chance to try the instruments and see the playful side of the symphony.” The Family concert and instrument petting zoo is an annual event and, “even the adults have enjoyed it as much as the kids” and mentioned her adult friends were enjoying the cello. Samuel Rubio was one of the kids who came with his mom reside in Redlands and tried playing the clarinet. He said, “it was a really nice instrument, it was just really nice and I was a little surprised at the high pitch of it.” Rubio has been taking violin lessons for almost a year and shared, “it lets your mind go free and you can pretty much do whatever you want.” Sachs said the next concert performed by the Redlands Symphony will be celebrating America and veterans as they honor the 70th anniversary of D-day on April 12th. Free Family Concert & Petting Zoo Date: Sunday, April 06, 2014 Time: 2:00 p.m. Event Location: University of Redlands, Memorial Chapel Address: 1200 E. Colton Ave Redlands CA 92374 Description: Refreshments served. Drawing for family subscription to the Symphony’s 2014-15 season (2 adults+up to 3 children) CONTACT INFO Phone: (909) 748-8018 Website: http://www.redlandssymphony.com/