The Dover Symphony Orchestra is catering to its youngest listeners by setting the great American pastime to music, and adding some holiday melodies to get them ready for the coming month.
The group’s Young People’s Concert, “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” will be at 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 22, at the Schwartz Center for the Arts.
First comes the ballgame-related fun, including music such as the “Star Spangled Banner” and
“The Peanut Vendor,” and a “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” sing-a-long.
Meanwhile, local high schoolers Eric Suter and Bobby Draper will be waiting in the dugout to introduce kids to Abbott and Costello’s famous “Who’s on First” bit. Jackie McCabe will bring it home with her narration of the classic “Casey at the Bat.”
McCabe reads the poem during a baseball-themed storytime at Dover Public Library. She said those four and older will appreciate the story of mighty Casey’s strike out.
“I think it’s great fun, it’s tongue in cheek,” she said. “I don’t know the little kids will get it but the parents will get it.”
McCabe has narrated for the symphony before, and she said they don’t mind if kids can’t sit still the whole show, or have to ask parents for explanations about what’s happening onstage. It’s part of the experience.
Besides baseball, holiday songs will keep kids’ attention during the performance. Young audience members will definitely sit up straight for some Christmas music if it means Santa might be coming — and he will if kids behave, DSO President Nancy Pikulik said. The man in red should stop in after pieces such as “Sleigh Ride,” “Silent Night,” and a sing-a-long with well-known carols.
Following the show kids can head upstairs to the McNinch Room for an up-close look at some of the instruments and to talk with the musicians.
This year, admission for students is free with a paying adult, a change that brought a lot of children to the first season of the concert, Pikulik said.
“That worked well, and hopefully this will even more so because this is the Young People’s Concert,” she said.
Dover —
