Symphony puts on ‘Peter and the Wolf’

Hey parents. There’s something your kids can do this Saturday morning that doesn’t involve cartoons. It might actually stimulate their brains and, who knows, lead to a new hobby or a valuable life change.

Did I mention it would cost only $5?

Take them to the Everett Symphony Orchestra’s children’s concert of “Peter and the Wolf.” The concert starts at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Everett Civic Auditorium.

This classic children’s tale is told by the music and by the narration of Seattle television personality Cliff Lenz.

“Cliff Lenz makes the story come alive,” said the symphony’s executive director, Jody Matthews. “Not only is the music just wonderful, it’s a narrated piece, so it’s engaging, and Cliff has such a heart for kids and so it makes it much more special.”

The concert introduces children to the music of Sergei Prokofiev and to various instruments of an orchestra, as different instruments represent certain characters in the story. The story is about young Peter and how he and his animal friends – a bird, a cat and a duck – catch a wolf who ends up happily in a zoo.

The concert is conducted by assistant conductor and music educator Ron Friesen. The program also includes selections from “Carnival of the Animals” by Camille Saint-Saens, a piece that involves dueling pianos.

Another highlight of the concert is that the kids will get to watch a kid play the piano.

Matthew Palumbo of Mill Creek is the winner of the Snohomish County Music Teachers Association concerto contest. Palumbo, 17, will play the first movement of Rachmaninoff’s “Piano Concerto No. 1” with the symphony.

Palumbo began playing piano at 6 and has since won and received honors in a variety of international and state competitions. Matthew is in the Running Start Program at Edmonds Community College and attends the Academy of Music Northwest in Bellevue, where he regularly performs solo and ensemble works.

Arts writer Theresa Goffredo: 425-339-3424 or goffredo@heraldnet.com.