It was so good to see the Usher Hall full of young children with a parent or two to look after them for the short Sunday afternoon Family Concert on the final day of this year's International Festival. The Director of the Festival was the star performer and it was a delight to have Nicola Benedetti join a reduced Philharmonia Orchestra to play Vaughan Williams's The Lark Ascending. An impressive introduction and instructions to everybody to mimic the flight of a lark had come from the afternoon's presenter, Lucy Driver. Lucy went on to tells us, section by section, of many of the animals depicted in the Carnival of the Animals, each of which was then played by the Orchestra, conducted by Matthew Lynch. Assistance at the side of the stage was given for those with hearing difficulties. The concert concluded with Rimsky-Korsakov's lovely Flight of the Bumblebee.
Seventy years ago I remember well the children's concert I was taken to in the early years of the Festival by my grandmother. I am sure the memory of this concert will stay in the memory of this afternoon's children.
Event: Sunday 25th August 2024 at 3pm