Oregon Music News

Gregory Vajda

The Oregon Symphony has provided children and families with kids concerts for longer than anyone at They Symphony can recall.  My son and I recently attended Musical Valentines, one in a 3 part series of The Oregon Symphony’s kids concerts.  I was inspired to discuss orchestral music and children with Conductor, Gregory Vajda.

My 5-year-old son, Oliver, and I attended The Oregon Symphony’s Pink Lemonade Concert on Valentine’s Day.  I enjoyed myself so very much.  Years ago, my husband and I had a Symphony subscription, but with children it’s difficult to find the time.

How do you approach the Pink Lemonade Series? Do you see the series as a way to connect with families, cultivate interest with children or both?

Absolutely, I do believe that a good Kids Concert is a Family Concert as well. Children don’t go to concerts alone. Oregon Symphony as an institution and myself as a young conductor think that providing quality, educational entertainment to different generations of a family has tremendous benefits. Listening to classical music is a social activity. Kids need to learn it from their parents and grand parents that it is great fun to hear a symphony orchestra live. It cannot be compared to any other type of live entertainment.

Can you point out some of the successes and challenges of introducing children to orchestral music?

The challenge is always how you get them (kids and families) to come. Once they are there they always have a great time and they are most likely to return. Marketing our product, finding ways to reach out to our target audience is the most difficult part of helping children to become appreciative, sophisticated concert goers in the future.

Please share what you find most rewarding as conductor and artistic director of the Pink Lemonade Series.

Again its the faces. The smiles, the laughs, the “dropped jaws” as I call it when kids perhaps first time in their lives here seventy plus people playing to the same beat. Kids and young adults are a tough, because very honest audience. I love the challenge!

Gregory Vadja

Can you share a particularly interesting or funny exchange you’ve had with one of your young audience members?

Well, my older son, Balazs got to conduct an orchestra not long ago for the first time and I was there to witness it. He jumped on the podium, swiftly introduced himself to the musicians and immediately gave an energetic downbeat to one of the Hungarian Dances by Brahms. The musicians could barely catch up with him. What can I say, he is a natural! :) Scenes like that (well if not exactly as a 9-year-old, first time conductor) occur every day when you play for kids. Making music is magical but doing magical things is an everyday activity for kids.

What suggestions might you share with parents who want to know how to best cultivate an appreciation for classical music for their children.

Bring them as many times as you can to hear live music! It will capture their imagination in a heartbeat. You don’t need much and you have your kids asking for music lessons and CD’s or classical music downloads to their iPods.

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In addition to their three-concert kids series each year, The Oregon Symphony also does an annual Young People’s Concerts for school groups of kids in Grades 3-6 in both Portland and Salem and small-ensemble performances called “Kinderkonzerts” for even younger kids in Grades K-2. Find complete details about these.

Also be sure to check out “Symphony Storytimes,” a great library series that brings symphony musicians and children together in a more intimate environment.  These programs help children to identify specific instruments, their sounds, their family of instruments and engages the children to conceive of music’s ability to tell a story.  Find complete details on those programs.