THE Hallé Orchestra will be surrounded by a collection of hand painted animals when it performs the Carnival of the Animals later this month.
The 80 strong orchestra will perform the family friendly concert on Sunday, July 24, at the Villa Marina as a way of introducing classical music to children.
To accompany this 38 children from Mooinjer Veggey nursery class and 19 year four pupils from Peel Clothworkers School have produced paintings depicting lions, elephants, kangaroos, birds and fish to visually aid the concert.
Anna Jackson, acting headteacher at Peel Clothworkers School, said: "We are delighted to have the children involved with this project. Not only are they enjoying the artwork that they have been doing, but to give them a connection to music with an orchestra as prestigious as the Hallé is a fantastic opportunity."
The Hallé Orchestra is being brought to the Island by the Isle of Man Arts Council. The orchestra's musical director Sir Mark Elder will take on the role of narrator for the Carnival of the Animals and there will be poems by Ogden Nash, Ravel's Mother Goose Suite and excerpts from Romeo and Juliet by Prokofiev.
Quintin Gill MHK, chairman of the Isle of Man Arts Council, said: "We are very grateful to the school for their creative support as it is important to both the Arts Council and the Hallé that young people are given the opportunity to connect with all types of music."
The Hallé Orchestra will also perform at an evening concert on Saturday, July 23. Sir Mark Elder will give a talk before conducting the orchestra as they play music including the symphonic poem Tintagel by Arnold Bax, Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E Minor and Sibelius' Symphony No 1 in E Minor. This starts at 7.30pm.
Tickets for the Hallé Orchestra start at £16. Concessions and family ticket deals are available. For more information call the ticket hotline on 01624 600555, visit the Welcome Centre in the Sea Terminal or log on to www.villagaiety.com.
