Cascade Symphony’s children’s concert features student cellist

EDMONDS — Felix Kim, an eighth grade student at Everett’s Gateway Middle School, will perform as the soloist in the “Boccherini Cello Concerto in B-flat Major” with the Cascade Symphony Orchestra on Feb. 10.

His performance is part of the symphony’s annual children’s concert, “Carnival of the Animals,” scheduled for 3 p.m. at the Edmonds Center for the Arts.

Felix began his cello studies at age 9 and now practices three hours a day. He gets up at 5:30 each morning to practice for 90 minutes before school and has another 90-minute session after school.

He said he heard the Boccherini concerto performed by another musician, thought it sounded interesting, and decided to play it at the concert. “The cadenza is really cool,” he said.

Felix, 14, was selected for the orchestra’s 2017-18 “Rising Star” award by Michael Miropolsky, Cascade Symphony’s music director, chosen from a group of young Western Washington musicians.

He began studying the cello with Leslie Marckx, who continues to be his teacher.

The concert’s theme, “The Carnival of the Animals,” comes from a musical suite of 14 movements by the French composer Camille Saint-Saens.

Each section imitates a different animal or character, including a lion, elephant, kangaroos, wild donkeys, and hens and roosters.

Before the concert begins, an instrumental “petting zoo” will give kids the ability to try to play orchestra instruments.

The concert also includes a performance by The Cascade Percussion Ensemble, directed by Ian Alvarez, and including Jacob Anderson, Curt Cheever, Roni Flynn, Heather Mullins, Sophie Schmidt, Ryan Templin and Taryn Zickefoose.

They will be playing “Polovtsian Dances” by composer Alexander Bortodin, “Comedian’s Galop” by Dmitri Kabalevsky and “Ma mere l’Oye” by Maurice Ravel.

Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486 or salyer@heraldnet.com.

If you go:

This year’s Children’s Concert, “Carnival of the Animals,” is 3 p.m. Feb. 10, at the Edmonds Center for the Arts, 410 Fourth Ave. N., Edmonds. Tickets are $10 for adults and seniors, $5 for students and $3 for children 12 and under. Call 425-776-4938 or go to cascadesymphony.org/2017-2018-season/ for more information.