MPO Announces "Beethoven Lives Upstairs" by Classical Kids LIVE!

The MPO will present an educational concert at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 3, 2018 at Taylor University’s Rediger Auditorium. "Beethoven Lives Upstairs" by Classical Kids LIVE! is produced by Classical Kids Music Education, A Chicago-based not-for-profit organization. Our own Marion Philharmonic Orchestra will be performing this presentation with our second Conductor Candidate, Ron Spigelman.
 
This world famous production features a lively exchange of letters between young "Christoph " and his uncle. Their subject is the "madman" who has moved into the upstairs apartment of Christoph's Vienna home. New for the MPO is this following of a story line with the concert. The audience is asked to travel back in time from March 26, 1827, the day of Beethoven's death, into the more intimate setting of young Christoph's house in Vienna a few years before. Christoph's father has just died and Beethoven has taken the room upstairs.
 
As this correspondence with this uncle unfolds, Christoph recounts stories of Beethoven playing late into the night and other strange behavior.  Finally, after attending the famous first performance of the Ninth Symphony, Christoph comes to understand the genius of Beethoven, the torment of his deafness and the beauty of his music.
 
Originally, "Beethoven Lives Upstairs" was an audio recording, distributed all over the world winning music, educational, and parenting awards and then was made into an Emmy award-winning film.
 
This live theatrical symphony concert is an imaginative way to introduce young audiences and their families to the life and music of Ludwig Van Beethoven. The first half will feature more than twenty-five excerpts of the master's music are included in the 50 minute collaboration, including Moonlight Sonata, Fur Elise, and the great Fifth and Ninth Symphonies. For the second half of the concert, Ron Spigelman will lead the MPO in Beethoven’s Symphony no. 1.