The FCS and the Friends of the Symphony invite music lovers of all ages to “Escape to the Zoo” for a fun-filled family concert at 3:00 PM on Sunday, January 22, 2023 at the Fort Collins Lincoln Center.
The Symphony, under the baton of Maestro Wes Kenney, will present Gregory Smith’s Zoo Song, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s Flight of the Bumblebee, and Ludwig van Beethoven’s By the Brook. Dancers from Canyon Concert Ballet will join the orchestra on-stage to perform Camille Saint-Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals. FCS Assistant Conductor Jeremy Cuebas will serve as the concert narrator.
Guests are encouraged to join members of Fort Collins Comic Con dressed as a favorite animal found in a zoo. Fig FX will be on-hand to paint guests’ faces as animals from 2:00 to 3:00 PM on a first-come, first-served basis.
“Zoo Song tells the story of a young girl’s trip to the zoo,” writes composer Gregory Smith. The child, captivated by one particular sound, sets out on a quest to find its source. She encounters many animals (depicted by music) along the way. The child discoveres the sourse of the elusive sound at the end of the piece. Zoo Song was jointly commissioned by the Colorado Symphony and the Denver Zoo. FCS Assistant Conductor Jeremy Cuebas will narrate the story.
Music often “paints” images for the imagination, and this is the case with the following works: Flight of the Bumblebee, By the Brook, and Carnival of the Animals.
In 1886, Camille Saint-Saëns wrote what would become his most famous work, Carnival of the Animals. Jeremy Cuebas will read a short poem before each section. The orchestra and CCB dancers will perform lively depictions of a musical story featuring lions, roosters, donkeys, turtles, elephants, kangaroos, an aquarium, birds, fossils, and a swan.
Family Concert Tickets:
Tickets are $5 for children and $10 for adults, and can be purchased through the Lincoln Center box office at LCTix.com/escape-to-the-zoo or by phone at 970-221-6730.
Escape to the Zoo Sponsors:
Friends of the Symphony, Advanced Energy, Anonymous Donor, Canyon Concert Ballet, City of Fort Collins Fort Fund, Pattie Cowell and Sherry Pomering, Flood and Peterson, Carol Ann and Gary Hixon, and Marty and Scott Marsh.
The Fort Collins Symphony’s 2022-2023 Season Sponsors: City of Fort Collins Fort Fund, Colorado Creative Industries, Dr. David and Alison Dennis, Ken Garff Ford Fort Collins, Lyric Theater, National Endowment for the Arts. Dr. Ed Siegel, and Dr. Peter Springberg and Janet Kowall.
Media Sponsors: KRFC 88.9 FM Radio Fort Collins, KUNC 91.5 FM Radio NPR, and North Forty News.
