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FAMILY CONCERT
Karen LeFrak: Sleepover at the Museum
Frank Duarte: Xhnisa (West Coast Premiere)
The Festival’s cherished free Family Concert program features Karen LeFrak‘s delightful Sleepover at the Museum, an accessible and charming story for audiences of all ages. Alight with adventure, it’s a scavenger hunt brought to life through clever instrumentation and musical motives. This engaging orchestral work invites listeners on a whimsical journey through a museum at night, blending storytelling with vivid musical themes that capture the excitement and wonder of discovery.
The program will also include a vibrant performance of Frank Duarte‘s Xhnisa, a musical reflection on the beauty, vitality, and cultural significance of water, inspired by a poem he wrote in the Central Valley variant of Zapotec. Rooted in his indigenous and Latino heritage, the composition captures water’s ever-changing nature—its clarity and turbulence, its movement and stillness—expressing both a personal and universal connection to this essential element.
The Family Concert’s beloved tradition, ‘Tour of the Orchestra’, invites curious minds of all ages to visit orchestra sections and explore the fascinating instruments that breathe life into the music—offering a rare, close up glimpse into the orchestral world. And new this year, in a special partnership with El Sistema Santa Cruz/Pajaro Valley, select honor students will perform side-by-side during the Family Concert and will be provided mentorship and coaching by orchestra musicians.