Out and About Heading downtown on the Metro with two teenagers (my daughter and one of my students), felt like a big adventure on a recent Sunday afternoon. Destination, the Seattle Art Museum for Intimate Impressionism from the National Gallery of Art, followed by a concert at Town Hall. The exhibit was lovely, and after all of that magnificent French art, we had to revive ourselves with lunch at Le Panier in the market.
After a bite, we hiked up the hill to Town Hall where we heard the Seattle Festival Orchestra play a Brahms concerto featuring the amazing Angelo Rondello as the soloist! We sat in the front row for an up close and personal view of the action. As an aside, we also witnessed an onstage marriage proposal during a break in the program. Adventure, indeed.
How refreshing to leave our usual routine and fill our souls with fresh artistic inspiration. Happy and tired from our big day out, we headed home on the bus, looking forward to our next urban arts adventure. We don’t have to hold our students by the hand for arts excursions, but we can point them in the right direction.
Attending live music is an important component to a well rounded music education. The good news is, there is no shortage of events in the Emerald City. Read on for some suggestions. This is by no means a complete list, but a mishmash of simple ideas for easy, and affordable outings.
Teen Tix offers a variety of arts events around the city for $5.00 tickets to teens (and often, their chaperone). One of my students regularly attends the Seattle Opera (front row seats) for $5.00. On any given day, there are as many as 50 arts events and exhibits available to Teen Tix holders. Enrollment is easy, a click of the mouse and away you go. http://www.teentix.org/calendar/month
The Seattle Symphony offers the program, Family Connections, which gives free companion tickets to ages 8-18 for selected concerts. Adult companions must pay full ticket price. http://www.teentix.org/calendar/month UW World Series, including the President’s Piano and International Chamber Series, offers up to two free tickets to youths ages 5-17 with every regularly purchased ticket. http://uwworldseries.org/events-tickets/discounts
Town Hall offers everything from world music to the Seattle Rock Orchestra to family concerts to chamber events. Check out the calendar: https://townhallseattle.org/arts-culture/
Local High Schools offer high quality musicals, plays, jazz, orchestra, concert bands, art shows, and more, at reasonable ticket prices. Check their home pages for upcoming events. I can’t wait to take in the Jazz Nutcracker at Roosevelt. Here are five to try: Roosevelt High School. http://roosevelths.seattleschools.org Ballard High School: http://www.ballardperformingarts.org Garfield High School: http://garfieldhs.seattleschools.org Shorewood High School: http://schools.shorelineschools.org/shorewood/ Shorecrest High School: http://schools.shorelineschools.org/scdrama/
Northwest Boy Choir: My top pick for the holidays! A Festival of Lessons and Carols is stunning. Not only is the singing angelic, the boys a wonder to behold, the event is extra fun because the audience sings along during specific parts of the program. This is an evening of joy and awe, to be sure. There are a few dates to choose from, warm up those voices! http://nwchoirs.org/events/a-festival-of-lessons-carols/
King FM has a wonderful Arts Calendar that is sure to spark more ideas. http://www.king.org/Community-Calendar/17991767 Hope to see you and your students out and about supporting local arts events. Happy Holidays!