If we’ve learned anything from Encanto’s “We Don’t Talk About Bruno”, we know that music can have a beautiful hold on our children. The same is true of books. Find a favorite one and it’s all your child wants to read! Put them together like author Dan Brown’s Wild Symphony? That’s some powerful art at work!
Yes, I’m talking about Dan Brown, the author of the bestselling Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons. He wrote a children’s book? Yup! He even composed music to go along with it. Let me tell you more.
Dan Brown’s Wild Symphony: More than a book
The book begins with a tiny director: Maestro Mouse! One by one he moves through the animal kingdom, “conducting” the music each animal contributes. The Sting Ray’s, for example, moves through the water silently and with grace. Not seeking attention. Could the ray be just like you? the story asks. While the kangaroo bounces playfully and the armadillo retreats into his shell when days are bad, the reader is invited to consider their own ways of being.
Each page corresponds with a piece of music, composed by Dan Brown. Readers download the app to scan the page they’re on and listen along.
I might be dating myself with this reference but I remember listening to Peter and the Wolf by Prokofiev in music class as a child. We’d listen for the different instruments to play the themes for the cat, bird, and duck — anxiously awaiting those French horns to signal the wolf’s arrival. It was interesting to think about music telling a story. But, to be frank, I remember it as a very serious and passive experience. Dan Brown’s Wild Symphony is neither serious nor passive. It is loud and silly and beckons the reader to participate.
On Saturday April 2nd, at Portsmouth’s Music Hall, Dan Brown’s Wild Symphony comes to life.
The Portsmouth Symphony Orchestra will perform this incredible piece of music for all who feel the the power of music and word. The proceeds from this event entirely benefit the two nonprofit organizations involved: The Portsmouth Symphony Orchestra and The Music Hall. The show is at 2pm– a perfect time for kids!
Click here to get your tickets.
