Tough Turkey in the Big City:
 A Thanksgiving Odyssey

What happens when a turkey from the sticks meets a Park Avenue pigeon? With the feel of an old-time radio story, Tough Turkey in the Big City follows the comic blunders of Tom Turkey, who leaves the farm to try his luck in the big city.

This high-energy, brassy Thanksgiving odyssey is the work of composer Bruce Adolphe and author Louise Gikow. In addition to being fun for the whole family, the kids will be introduced to the sounds of the orchestral instruments and the concepts of musical themes and motives. For Narrator, piano, clarinet, bass trombone, violin, trumpet and percussion; appropriate for ages 3 and up, duration approximately 40 minutes.

Red Dogs & Pink Skies
The Life and Art of Paul Gauguin

Orchestra Miami has been bringing musicians into various Elementary Schools in Miami-Dade County to perform this beautiful composition about the art of Paul Gauguin. With the aid of a full-color workbook and CD, children learn about the similarities and correlation between visual art and music, color and sound, as well as learning about history, geography and language. Participating schools have been Toussaint L’Overture Elementary in Little Haiti, Frances S. Tucker Elementary in Coconut Grove and Leonora B. Smith Elementary in Allapattah.

The Carnival of the Animals Carnival

On Jan. 8, 2011 at the University of Miami’s Gusman Hall, Orchestra Miami presented a fun-filled afternoon of music and more, for the benefit of the Humane Society of Greater Miami’s Adopt-A-Pet. Children were treated to the zany antics of the Fantasy Theatre Factory, along with the orchestra’s performance of Respighi’s The Birds and Camille Saint Säens’ Carnival of the Animals, featuring piano soloists Leila Torres and Jose Ignacio Diaz Gravier. We are proud that two beautiful puppies found a loving home as a result of this event! This concert was supported by a grant from the City of Coral Gables and with the support of Whole Foods.

The following week, Orchestra Miami performed the Carnival of the Animals for close to 10,000 Miami Dade County Public Schools’ 2nd grade students, as a part of the Miami Dade County Public School’s Cultural Passport Program.