Children’s Corner

Welcome to Children’s Corner!

You shouldn’t miss our first concert for the year. Performing with the orchestra will be 15 year old violinist, Phoebe Gardner. She’s an amazing violin player. She already has her AMusA & LMusA – both with distinctions, and she has performed in places like the Sydney Entertainment Centre & the Opera House. We interviewed Phoebe at rehearsal:

When did you start learning violin?
I started when I was 4 years old. I don’t know why, but I really wanted to play violin & I’m lucky my parents encouraged me.

What’s it like to play with a big orchestra?
This is the first time I’ve had the chance. I’ve been looking forward to it for a long time. It’s really fun!

Do you have to practise a lot?
I try to do a minimum of 5 hours every day.

How do you fit that in with going to school?
I used to go to a normal high school, but I changed to Distance Education last year so that I can concentrate more on music. It means I can be more flexible with my time. I can work from home & contact my teachers online.

Do you have time for other interests?
Oh, yes. I also compose my own music – songs and pieces for string quartets. And I’m doing a course in Shakespearean Theatre with the Australian Theatre For Young People.

So music & theatre take up a big part of your life?
Yes, but I still love to go shopping and chill with my friends!

 Peter and the Wolf

Do you know the music to Peter and the Wolf?  –  an exciting story about a young boy and his animal friends who outwit a ferocious wolf!

The characters in Peter and the Wolf are played by different instruments of the orchestra. The strings play Peter, the flute plays the cheeky bird, the cat is played by the clarinet and the oboe plays the duck.

See if you can help the characters find their instruments in our Peter and the Wolf Maze!

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VIOLAS

Are there any viola players out there? Often the viola has to play “2nd fiddle” or even “3rd fiddle” to those uppity violinists, but in one of our recent concerts, the viola was the star! We played Harold In Italy by Berlioz, which is a concerto for viola! Did you know that a lot of famous musicians have been closet viola players? JS Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Dvorak and Schubert all played the viola – not to mention the rock legend, Jimi Hendrix!

Concertmaster & viola player extraordinaire: Cameron Hough

The viola has a lovely warm tone – it’s the alto voice of the strings. Our concert master, Cameron has a brand new viola which he will play in this concert. It’s an unusual colour – a gorgeous buttery gold, and it was made by Harry Vatiliotis, who lives in Sydney.

So this concert is really The Revenge of the Viola! And in honour of that proud instrument, here are some viola jokes where the viola player wins!

Why are viola jokes so short?
So that violin players can understand them!

Why are violas bigger than violins?
They’re not – It’s just that the violin players heads are so big, they make the violins look smaller!

Do you play a musical instrument? Is your teacher always nagging you to practise? See how good you are with our Practice Quiz

We’ll be updating this page regularly so keep checking back to see what goodies are on offer!

If you have any pictures,  jokes or any suggestions for what you’d like to see on this page email them to publicity@mosmanorchestra.org.au