What can you expect from a CCC concert?…
A CCC audience is a varied crowd: from first-time concert goers to families whose tradition is to come along whenever we’re in a concert hall near them. There are even some people who came to our concerts years ago and are returning with their very own children! But one thing’s for sure: everyone has a fantastic experience! For you lucky people who are joining us for the first time, here’s what you can expect from one of our concerts…
As our name suggests, our concerts are designed for children and their families. This means that if you come to one of our concerts we won’t mind if your child needs to move about or stand up (or dance!). We know that keeping young ones still for too long is almost impossible! We therefore strive to create a relaxed atmosphere that is welcoming to all. And one thing about orchestral concerts that people can be unsure of: applause. We know some people are anxious about clapping at “the right time”, but we will happily accept applause at any point!
Audience participation… We like to think that we have the right balance of audience participation in our concerts. As parents, it’s lovely to relish a moment when you can sit down and the children are entertained, but we don’t want you to get too comfy (we will not tolerate snoring adults!). We like to include some audience participation to encourage everyone to get on their feet and move to the music – and the children LOVE this.
Our concerts are not just an orchestra (or ensemble, if you’re going to one of our smaller concerts) performing piece after piece. We often include other performers in our concerts including wonderful dancers, actors, and even giant cat puppets (for those of you who have seen Django’s Journey, you know what we mean!). Therefore there’s lots to look at on stage – which is very important for little children. Our presenter, Owen, also adds his unique brand of entertainment with his energetic on-stage antics!
Finally, it’s our main aim to make orchestral music accessible to all. Not only does this mean bringing music to venues across the country, but it also means making the content accessible. The music we include in concerts is thoughtfully curated to appeal to children which means there are no pieces which last 30 minutes (our pieces are generally 3-5 minutes long) or require musical knowledge to understand.
That’s us in a nutshell! If you are planning your first CCC experience, then hopefully this will give you an idea of what to expect, and perhaps you could tell us about your experience after…
