If you’re looking for something fun to do with your family this month, I’ve got the perfect suggestion: take in a performance at the Toronto Symphony Orchestra! Now, to some kids, the symphony may not seem like the most fun way to spend an afternoon, but I think this special production can prove them wrong.

I love sharing classical music with my kids, and the performance of Peter and the Wolf this coming weekend is sure to thrill kids.

Peter and the Wolf, Op. 67 was written in 1936 by Russian compose Sergei Prokofiev as a children’s piece. It’s typically performed by an orchestra and narrator together. When I was little, I had it on cassette tape, and listened to it often at bedtime.

It was magical listening to the instruments as animals — I recognized their sounds as I recognized favourite characters in cartoons. If you’re unfamiliar with the piece, this YouTube video is an excellent place to start. I absolutely adore it and I’m so excited to share it with our kids.

If you’ve never taken kids to the symphony before, Kathy Buckworth has some good tips for introducing kids to it. One of her suggestions is that for kids, interest often comes from combining visual aspects with the music, as this upcoming performance certainly does. Magic Circle Mime Co. combines their innovative and imaginative performances with orchestral music in a way that kids absolutely love.

“Without upsetting the maestro, three musicians and a conductor’s assistant must outwit a fearsome wolf that threatens both the orchestra and audience. The concert hall becomes the dramatic setting and musicians are the characters of the story as Prokofiev’s exhilarating musical tale, Peter and the Wolf, comes to life.”

Doesn’t that sound fun? We’re excited to go, and maybe we’ll see you there, too!

Visit the TSO to buy tickets.