For its 23rd Season, the Hot Springs Music Festival is offering three special programs for students and their families:
• Monday, June 4, 7:30 pm, First United Methodist Church Christian Life Center: Inside Looking Out, where audience members are seated within the orchestra during an early rehearsal of The Planets by Gustav Holst. Those present will have the opportunity to observe a master conductor rehearse the Festival orchestra and bring them to near performance ready in just one hour.
All area students, their music teachers, and parents are invited to attend free of charge, but they must register by sending names to office@hotmusic.org by May 21. This is made possible through the sponsorship of Dorothy Morris and the Morris Foundation.
Any students under 16 must be accompanied by a parent. “This is one of our most popular events,” said Lynn Payette, Festival Executive Director. “It is a unique opportunity to experience how an already good performance becomes a great performance.”
• Tuesday, June 12, 10:30 am, Shana Norton, Harp Associate of the Festival, will present the premiere performance of Thumbelina: A Fairy Tale told in Music & Film at the Garland County Library.
• Thursday, June 14, 7:30 pm, at the Hot Springs Farmers Market, the Lumos Wind Quintet, the Festival Outreach Ensemble, will play a short pre-movie concert prior to the outdoor film.
• Friday, June 15, 10:30 am, at Garland County Library, the Lumos Wind Quintet will present the premiere performance of The Ugly Duckling a musical fable composed and arranged by Joseph Salvalaggio, the Festival Oboe Mentor.
“This is the first time we’ve had a designated group to go out into the Hot Springs community and play in a variety of settings,” Lynn Payette added. “When the Saint Luke’s Choir toured England in 2009, we met a young musician named Harriet Brown who kept in touch with members of the Choir.”
Payette went on to say “Harriet is part of a student woodwind quintet based in Birmingham, England, and I learned their dream was to have the opportunity to perform in the United States. When I heard how exceptionally talented they are, it was a privilege to invite them to participate in the Hot Springs Music Festival. It is another example of how the Festival makes the sounds of dreams come true.”
