Pops' "Circus of Sounds" Delights Young and Old

L to R: Bhuvana Murali, Vybhav Shiv, Shiv Viswanathan (photo by Laura A. Hobson)

With weather finally in the 50’s on a fair Saturday morning, February 1, the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra presented a fun-filled Lollipops concert entitled "Circus of Sounds" for over 2,200 children and adults. Led by ebullient maestro John Morris Russell, the program celebrated four circus rings representing different families of instruments in the orchestra. “You get into the game,” said Russell as he introduced the show highlighting strings, woodwinds, brass and percussion. A harp produced a happy sound; a bassoon, a sad sound. And the children responded with glee.

Standing outside Music Hall was Carl Gandola of Ft. Wright, Kentucky, with his daughter, Sophie. They were eager for 9:30 a.m. to arrive, when the festivities began. Walking in the door, they were greeted by volunteers who handed out red bags filled with crayons and coloring programs.

Before the concert, there were plenty of activities to engage the attention of the children. From Scott Cain, a professional juggler from Finneytown on the first floor, with his daughter, Elizabeth, 9, to the Suzuki violin players in Corbett Tower, some of the children received their first introduction to music. Musicians on the balcony level demonstrated their instruments to the kids, who had a chance to play them.

Color abounded. On stage were musicians in red jackets with a red background surrounded by balloons in red, green, blue and yellow. Abraham Schwartz, 5, attended with his parents from Bridgetown. “We love to come to this,” said Larry Schwartz, his father. “This was his Christmas present.”

Chloe Halsted, from the Cincinnati Symphony Youth Orchestra, exhibited flute playing to the children. Proud parents took pictures as their youngsters took a first step in learning to play a violin, for example.

From the Wyoming Fine Arts Center and University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music Preparatory Department, Jenny Leong led a group of young children dressed in black and white in a Suzuki violin performance. Grandmothers, grandfathers, mothers, fathers and children thronged to all three levels of Music Hall to enjoy the musical adventure. They came from all over the Greater Cincinnati area: the West side of town, Northern Kentucky, the suburbs and the East side.

A young family composed of Shiv Viswanathan with his wife Bhuvana Murali brought their son Vybhav Shiv, age 2 l/2, from Anderson Township to hear this concert. Even at this early age, “he loves music,” said Viswanathan. “He is obsessed with it, preferring classical and Indian music,” he commented. Vybhav listens to YouTube as well his parents’ singing him to bed. He even asks for specific songs.

As Trey Devey, president of the CSO, said, “These are our future audiences. Long-time patrons say that they remember when they were at Music Hall as children.” Furthermore, Lollipops concerts have grown from two to three, reflecting more interest in music by a young audience.

With his usual gusto and enthusiasm, John Morris Russell made his way under the big top reflecting the circus theme. Adding to the program were sad clown Tristan performed by Tony Nelson and happy clown Isolde played by Paige Whalen, appearing courtesy of My Nose Turns Red. Making a special guest appearance was Scottish solo percussionist Colin Currie, who performed body music, hitting his chest, snapping his fingers and clapping his hands. (Currie was guest artist on the January 31 and February 1 Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra concerts in James MacMillan's “Veni, Veni, Emmanuel” for percussion and orchestra.)

As ring meister, Russell engaged the audience to listen to selections such as the Sabre Dance from "Gayane" by Aram Khachaturian, Waltz from Serenade for Strings in C Major by Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Aragonaise from Carmen Suite No. 1 by Georges Bizet, "Royal March of the Lion" from "Carnival of the Animals" by Camille Saint-Saens, and "The Picador March" by John Philip Sousa, punctuated with drums and cymbals. In a joyous sing-a-long, everyone participated in "If You’re Happy and You Know It, Clap Your Hands." In addition, there was a special performance by young Max Poff, a juggler.

Continuing the program were "Valse Triste" by Jean Sibelius and the Hungarian Dance No. 5 in G Minor by Johannes Brahms. This variety of music brought unique sounds and textures from many classic pieces. Even a short selection from the "1812 Overture" by Tchaikovsky made the finale burst with a red, white and blue canon exploding, punctuated by Tristan and Isolde popping all the balloons.