The Listener was part of Family Fun Day programme at the Dewan Filharmonik PETRONAS (DFP). I always try to bring the kids to enjoy and appreciate the orchestra whenever there is a great programme on. I was really glad to have gone to this one.
I was thrilled to note the selection of the pieces for the day which featured some of my favourite composers.
I noticed there were more adults than usual that came without children. I suspect it must have been the work of Harry Porter.
The show started with the mime from Magic Circle Mime appearing from the entrance. For your information, mime artists act out their story with their body only and without voice. That means, they need to be extra expressive with their facial expressions. Indeed the mime artists were really good as the audience bursts out with laughter every time they appear and we understood what they were trying to say to us.
The story revolved around the mime artist that tried to take over the orchestra and be the conductor at first, and then he wanted to be the trumpeter. He was very competitive and persistent to get into the team. The orchestra was conducted by Gerard Salonga who had some acting talents himself as he played the reprimanding role to discipline the mime artist. I love how the programme started very lively with A Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra played by various sections of the orchestra, in a way very educational for our young audiences to know the difference of the sections. The Bartered Bride: Overture by Smetana increased the excitement in the atmosphere and prepared us for the following pieces. All the pieces are brief I guess that really suited to the young audience.
I could see people straightening up in their seats when the orchestra moved into Harry’s Wondrous World by renowned composer John Williams who also composed soundtracks to movies like E.T., Jaws, and the Star Wars as well as Indiana Jones series. Of course, the mystical and magical song from Harry Porter really set the mood and imagination of another magical world.
Tchaikovsky being my favourite composer, I was excited to listen to Swan Lake, Dance of the Swans. That was when the female mime artist appeared as a ballerina but what a creative twist as the mimes tap danced instead to the orchestra, and they did it really well and on spot.
As we moved into the finale with Bizet, Mozart and Britten finally, the mimes stole the cymbals and did all kinds of creative pretend games with it including pretending it was a saw machine, to pretending that it was a serving platter. Josiah certainly laughed out loud at all their silly moves. It was indeed a most entertaining evening with my 8 year old and Family Fun Days should always be enjoyed by kids while growing up appreciating performing arts.
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