A note from Founder & Director Evin Blomberg:

I am so excited to see this collaboration finally come to life! One of my goals for the Soli Music Society is to help make classical music more accessible to kids. Over the past few months, I have been working with the Kenton County Public Library to come up with a new series called "Musical Doodles", that would make it possible for kids to have a valuable listening experience without the pressure of a formal performance. We had a great turnout at our first event yesterday!

Musical Doodles is an interactive experience that encourages active listening and creative thinking. Each musical selection is introduced with a short description of the piece that highlights a certain topic or overarching theme, which serves as a drawing prompt (in this case, “Winter”). By giving kids something to listen for, they begin to develop critical listening skills, and get to enjoy a creative activity while becoming familiar with classical music.

It was also fun to hear them describe their drawings after each piece - interpretations of the Largo movement from Winter (Vivaldi's Four Seasons) ranged from a page of peaceful snowflakes to a wild and stormy snowmageddon. (This particular listener felt that when I played louder and higher-pitched, it sounded like there was more snow. How interesting!) This just proves that kids have the ability to understand and interpret classical music, and with an activity that helps them form some sort of connection with classical music, hopefully it will continue to be a part of their lives in the future.

Looking forward to future Musical Doodles sessions!

-Evin