Welcoming children to a musical world
Exploring the joy, whimsy, and magic of the season through a child’s eyes as we built this Family Christmas program for the Choral Arts Society of Washington.
Starting with a feeling, and making it real
This project started when the client had a fantastic experience with a program guide at a family-friendly event in a Philadelphia park. The inspiration for creating a Christmas program that was above and beyond the standard-issue classical music program was literally tangible, but we needed it to have a brand new look that felt like Choral Arts.
Together we identified some important-to-include components:
Song lyrics, notation, and program order
Engaging activities for children as young as five and as old as 12.
Information about some of the visible stage decor pieces
Content that advances the idea of what choral music can be in the minds of kids
Bringing in a guiding character: Bella the Bell
Building a narrative line through the children’s program came alive when we created a friendly, child-like guide in Bella the Bell. This custom illustrated asset served as the introduction to the concert and a guide for kids to understand what they were seeing, and why. Bella explained etiquette about when to clap and when to ring jingle bells, interviewed the conductor, and taught the kids about who sings what part in a large symphonic choir.
As a thru-line from the program, Bella also appeared in several marketing assets for the show as an animated host for kids.
Something for all ages
Kids ages 5-12 have a wide range of capacities and abilities - so we wanted something in the program to speak to every age (and to the smaller and bigger guests at the concert as well).
We created:
A simple search-and-find puzzle and more challenging word search
Bright and colorful stage maps
Choral lyrics and musical notation for more experienced young musicians
Illustrated conducting diagrams that show how arm movements respond to tempo
A narrative lesson section that spoke to the Choral Arts annual partnership with the Philippines Embassy and the Filipino holiday decor on the stage for the oldest children in the audience
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