Tag Archives: orli shaham

Arts & Culture Events for Preschoolers, Arts & Culture for Kids

Baby Got Bach event returns to St. Louis

Have you and your child experienced Baby Got Bach yet? This entertaining and high quality production returns to St. Louis on Saturday, November 24, 2012 at 10:30 am, Centene Plaza, 7700 Forsyth Road. Baby Got Bach is a classical music interactive event for 3 to 6 year olds founded by internationally known pianist Orli Shaham.

The first 30 minutes of Baby Got Bach features Backstage Up Front in the lobby area, where children can explore real instruments, learn about sound, and meet musicians from the St. Louis Symphony. Immediately following in the performance hall, audience members sing familiar songs, play rhythm sticks and small percussion instruments (this is a bit of the “get out the wiggles” portion of Baby Got Bach), and hear a chamber music concert. The concert portion features pianist Orli Shaham, St. Louis Symphony percussionist Thomas Stubbs, and other St. Louis Symphony musicians.

Music will include:

Johann Sebastian Bach: Invention in C Major
Beata Moon: The Curious Engine
Steve Reich: Clapping Music
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov: Flight of the Bumblebee

Reservations
The Baby Got Bach performance is FREE, but advance reservations are strongly recommended. Online reservations can be made starting on Monday, November 12, 2012 at noon. All the spots for previous St. Louis performances were filled within one or two days, so be sure to plan ahead! Seating is limited. Walk-ins without reservations may be admitted, space permitting.

Tips
* Paid parking is available at the Centene Plaza garage. Street parking is free and fairly ample on Saturdays.
* The St. Louis Symphony, The Centene Charitable Foundation, and numerous individuals donate their time and funds to the nonprofit, Baby Got Bach. Please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Baby Got Bach.
* The program runs from 10:30 am to about 12:10 pm, so it is prime snack or lunch time for many young children. The format is casual, so feel free to take your child out to the lobby for a break or snack if she/he needs it.
* The concert will include music by living composers. This is a great opportunity to point out how all the music we hear everywhere in movies, television, commercials, games, etc… is written by someone and how kids can learn how to compose music too.
* Questions? Contact Baby Got Bach through their web site.

About Orli Shaham, Artistic Director, Host, and Pianist
Orli Shaham got an early start in her music career. She began playing piano at age four, and got her first music scholarship when she was five. Just a couple years later, she began her studies at The Juilliard School with Herbert Stessin. That was the beginning of a flood of prestigious performances and awards, launching her international career. Ms. Shaham has performed with many of the world’s great orchestras and has been lauded for her recitals at Carnegie Hall, the 92nd Street Y, and Lincoln Center, as well as many other renowned concert halls around the globe. Ms. Shaham has 5 year old twins Nathan and Alex and college-age stepsons Peter and Jonathan. She lives in St. Louis and New York with her husband, St. Louis Symphony music director David Robertson.

Photo by Jennifer Lin. Backstage Up Front at Baby Got Bach, with St. Louis Symphony cellist Bjorn Ranheim, February 2012.
Arts & Culture Events for Preschoolers, Kid Friendly Restaurants

Baby Got Bach: February 18 performance

Baby Got Bach is back for another entertaining and free performance in St. Louis on February 18, 2012 at 10:30 am, Centene Plaza, 7700 Forsyth Road. Baby Got Bach is an engaging classical music interactive event for 3 to 6 year olds founded by internationally known pianist Orli Shaham. During the nearly two hour program, kids can explore real instruments, meet musicians from the St. Louis Symphony, sing familiar songs, play rhythm sticks and castanets, and hear a chamber music concert featuring works by Saint-Saens, Rimsky-Korsakov, Schubert, Bartok, and more.

Tickets

The community performance is free of charge thanks to the generosity of The Centene Charitable Foundation. Currently, the organization is accepting reservations from people who signed up for their mailing list last Fall. Online reservations will be open to the general public starting on February 6, 2012. All the spots for the November 2011 performance were filled within two days last Fall, so be sure to make advance reservations on the Baby Got Bach web site. There is a limit of approximately 80 children for the event and there will be a wait list available. Walk-ins without reservations may be admitted, space permitting.

Tips

* Parking is available for $2 per hour at the Centene Plaza garage. Street parking is free on Saturdays.
* The St. Louis Symphony, The Centene Charitable Foundation, and many individuals donate their time and funds to the nonprofit, Baby Got Bach. If you are able, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Baby Got Bach.
* The program may be a bit long for some 3 and 4 year olds, but the format is casual, so feel free to take your child out to the lobby for a break or snack if she/he needs it.
* There will be short intermission before the chamber music concert portion of the event.
* Make a morning/day of your outing and eat at the nearby, delicious, and family friendly restaurant, Half and Half. Be sure to try the veggie hash and fresh donuts! Half and Half is open 8 am to 2 pm on Saturdays.
* Questions? Contact Baby Got Bach through their web site.

About Orli Shaham, Artistic Director, Host, and Pianist

Orli Shaham got an early start in her music career. She began playing piano at age four, and got her first music scholarship when she was five. Just a couple years later, she began her studies at The Juilliard School with Herbert Stessin. That was the beginning of a flood of prestigious performances and awards, launching her international career. Ms. Shaham has performed with many of the world’s great orchestras and has been lauded for her recitals at Carnegie Hall, the 92nd Street Y, and Lincoln Center, as well as many other renowned concert halls around the globe. Ms. Shaham has preschool twins Nathan and Alex and college-age stepsons Peter and Jonathan. She lives in St. Louis and New York with her husband, St. Louis Symphony music director David Robertson.

Photo: Ali Winberry
Arts & Culture Events for Preschoolers

Baby Got Bach: interactive music event for kids

Sponsored by the Centene Corporation, Baby Got Bach in St. Louis is an interactive concert series for kids age 3 to 6. Experience this free, entertaining program praised by the Wall Street Journal, New York Magazine, and hundreds of parents, on Saturday, November 26 at 10:30 am, Centene Plaza, 7700 Forsyth Boulevard. Orli Shaham, a local musician, internationally known pianist, and busy Mom of twins is the founder and artistic director of Baby Got Bach. She will be joined by a quintet of wind players from the St. Louis Symphony.

Although free tickets for this event have already all been distributed as of Sunday, November 20, you may add your name to the Baby Got Bach mailing list to receive information about other upcoming St. Louis concerts on February 18 and April 21, 2012 at 11 am (note the April date is tentative), also at Centene Plaza in Clayton. If your kids are flexible, you can still go to the Saturday, November 26 event without a confirmed reservation and possibly be admitted as space becomes available. I’m sure that not all the people who have confirmed reservations will actually show up (the initial maximum capacity on the event was approximately 200 people). Such is the nature of last minute life with kids, holidays, and of course when tickets are free.

Parking is available for $2 per hour at the Centene Plaza garage. Street parking is another option and is free on Saturdays.

About the event
The first 30 minutes of Baby Got Bach gives kids an opportunity to visit four musical activity stations where they can meet musicians, play with instruments, conduct, and explore music concepts. This portion is followed by a ten minute “jam session” in which the musicians perform songs like “Twinkle, Twinkle” and “Row, Row, Row Your Boat,” while audience members have a percussion instrument to play. Musical terms such as forte and piano will be taught (if your child watches the Disney Jr. show, “Little Einstein’s,” or is a Kindermusik student, she/he will be in the know!). Baby Got Bach concludes with the main stage concert program featuring the following brief pieces:

Bach: Invention in C Major
Berio: Opus Number Zoo (first movement)
Beethoven: Variations on “La ci darem” (selections)
Schumann: Fantasy Pieces (no. 3) for clarinet and piano
Mozart: Quintet for piano and winds (third movement)
Ligeti: Bagatelles No. 1 & 3 for wind quintet and piano
Rimsky-Korsakov: Flight of the Bumblebee (transcription for wind quintet and piano)

Baby Got Bach brings much joy, fun, and a quality musical experience for the preschool set and their caregivers. If you are able, feel free to make a tax-deductible donation of any amount to this worthwhile nonprofit organization.

About Orli Shaham, Artistic Director, Host, and Pianist
Orli Shaham got an early start in her music career. She began playing piano at age four, and got her first music scholarship when she was five. Just a couple years later, she began her studies at The Juilliard School with Herbert Stessin. That was the beginning of a flood of prestigious performances and awards, launching her international career. Ms. Shaham has performed with many of the world’s great orchestras and has been lauded for her recitals at Carnegie Hall, the 92nd Street Y, and Lincoln Center, as well as many other renowned concert halls around the globe. Ms. Shaham has preschool twins Nathan and Alex and college-age stepsons Peter and Jonathan. She lives in St. Louis and New York with her husband, St. Louis Symphony conductor David Robertson.

Photo: Ali Winberry