The Omaha Symphony Family Concert Series show, The Listener , will be performed on Sunday, April 22 at 2 p.m. at Omaha's Rose Blumkin Performing Arts Center. The art of listening requires training. Musical challenges with music and dance are a part of the action. Ernest Richardson, resident conductor of the Omaha Symphony, said the program isn't a sit down, boring recitation of parental advice. Just like in a concert hall, there are lots of things going on all around us everyday.
People learn a lot when they are able to take it all in.
Utilizing backgrounds in theater and instrumental music, they created concerts integrating orchestral music with visual theatre. In these programs, the conductor, orchestra members, and mime company perform as both musician and actor. The combination brings an intriguing perspective to the music. The Listener and other programs by the company have been performed with orchestras throughout North America. The Listener includes music from Benjamin Britten's A Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, as well as pieces by Bernstein, Shostakovich, Bizet, Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky and Mozart.