Category: Music

Music & Movies

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Deer Valley Music Festival, 2012

Since I love music and film both so much, it is not a surprise that I love when they are combined in a novel way. There have been a few opportunities where the Utah Symphony has incorporated visuals from movies to be accompanied by the live orchestra during the concert. We took Theo to the Deer Valley Music Festival a couple of summers ago when they had the “Disney in Concert: Magical Music from the Movies” performance and he loved it.

We also very much enjoyed the “Pixar in Concert” performance last month where they showed scenes from beloved films such as Wall-E, Toy Story, Finding Nemo and Ratatouille (a household favorite) while the orchestra played the score along with the film.

We are looking forward to the upcoming “The Magic of Harry Potter” concert in a few weeks. I’m hoping they will do a similar production with visuals from the movies along with the music performed. The Harry Potter fans in your family will probably love it!

[UPDATE 2/8/14: I heard back from the Utah Symphony PR people that there will not be screens set up during the Harry Potter show, but the music from the movies will be performed. Just wanted to clarify!]

Shifting gears slightly, I must profess my love for “sing-a-long movies.” They are as cheesy as you think they are. I have had the pleasure of participating in sing-a-longs for “The Sound of Music” and “Grease,” both of which are classics in the movie musical genre. The cheesiness factor goes through the roof when I insist that my friends and I dress up in costumes in character for the movies. Behold:

Pre-transformation “Good Sandy”
Fraulein “The Hills Are Alive” Maria
 

Anyway, my point in bringing this up is that the crazily popular movie “Frozen” just came out with a sing-a-long version and is currently being shown in the theaters. I’ve heard friends proclaim that they have had the soundtrack to the movie playing nonstop since their family saw the movie, or that they find themselves humming the songs. Here is your chance to bring the kids and belt out the songs like you really want to! Bonus points if you wear costumes. 

Holiday Craziness Begins…

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Reprinted in the blog with permission by the author (me) from an email that was distributed today:

Hello!

If you haven’t received an email like this from me before, I like to put together a list of fun holiday events for kids every year. It may seem too early to think about the holidays already but there are a lot of fun opportunities that I thought everyone would like to know about in advance. Events are listed chronologically and I have noted which events we will be attending if you want to join us. Please feel free to forward this on and let me know if there is something you recommend that’s not on this list!
Happy (almost) Holidays…!
Christina

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Molly Mouse’s Sugar Plum Debut (ballet)
Date/Time: Friday & Saturday, November 29 & 30; 1:00pm and 6:00pm
Location: Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center (138 West Broadway)
Cost: $15
Sponsor: Children’s Ballet Theatre
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The Cat in the Hat (play)
Date/Time: December 6-28; various dates/times
Location: 168 West 500 North
Cost: Adults $26, Kids $16
Sponsor: Salt Lake Acting Company
* We will be attending the 12/28, 12pm show.
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Traditional Nutcracker (ballet)
Date/Time: December 6-28; various dates/times; Sugar Plum Parties ($7.50) after 2pm matinees
Location: Capitol Theatre (50 West 200 South)
Cost: $29-$79
Sponsor: Ballet West
* I’m going to wait another year to take Theo to the “real” Nutcracker. We will be going to Nutty Nutcracker (see below) this year instead.

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Babes in Toyland (play)
Date/Time: December 6-24; various dates/times
Location: 3605 South State Street
Cost: $14
Sponsor: Utah Children’s Theatre
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The Night Before Christmas (ballet) Date/Time: Thursday & Friday, December 5 & 6; 7:00pm Location: Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center (138 West Broadway) Cost: $12

Sponsor: Salt Lake Dance Center & Ballet Jeunesse
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Arthur Christmas (movie)
Date/Time: Saturday, December 7; 11:00am
Location: SLC Main Library Auditorium
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Utah Film Center
* We are planning to go.












A Snow White Christmas (play)

Date/Time: Friday, December 13; 7:00pm (other dates: December 14-29)
Location: Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center (138 West Broadway)
Cost: Holiday Special, 5 tickets for $100 on this night only ($34-$54 otherwise)
Sponsor: Lythgoe Family Musicals
* 100% of proceeds towards this particular show benefit Primary Children’s Hospital. The special package is also only available for this night. This show will also run on other dates (http://www.arttix.org/tickets/production.aspx?performanceNumber=11044) but we are planning to go on this night.

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Here Comes Santa Claus! (concert)
Date/Time: Saturday, December 14; 11:00am and 12:30pm
Location: Abravanel Hall (123 West South Temple)
Cost: $6-$18
Sponsor: Utah Symphony
* We have tickets to the 11:00am show.

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Hatch Music & Magic Show
Date/Time: Saturday, December 14; 11:00am
Location: Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center (138 West Broadway)
Cost: $5
Sponsor: Repertory Dance Theatre, Ring Around the Rose series
* We can’t go as it conflicts with the early Utah Symphony show (above), but we went last year and it was really good.
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 Winter Solstice (crafts/activities)

Date/Time: Saturday, December 21; 10:00am – 1:00pm
Location: Children’s Garden, Red Butte Gardens
Cost: Free for Members;

Non-Members: Adults (ages 18-64): $10 Seniors (ages 65+): $8 Military w/ID: $8 Children (ages 3-17): $6

Children (under 3): Free U of U Faculty/Staff: $8

Sponsor: Red Butte Gardens
* We are planning to go.

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Third Saturdays at UMFA (crafts)

Date/Time: Saturday, December 21; 1:00pm – 4:00pm
Location: UMFA (410 Campus Center Drive)
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Utah Museum of Fine Arts
* This isn’t really a holiday event, but I wanted to put in a plug for the UMFA. It is our new favorite place!

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Community Christmas Concert (concert)
Date/Time: Sunday, December 22; Time TBA
Location: TBA
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Salt Lake Children’s Choir
* Hard to plan when we don’t know the time or place, but if it works out, we’ll go. I used to sing in this choir.

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Pupcracker – A Canine Nutcracker (play)
Date/Time: Thurs-Sunday, December 26-29; 2:30pm and 7:30pm
Location: Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center (138 West Broadway)
Cost: $18-$24
Sponsor: Intermountain Therapy Animals
URL: http://www.arttix.org/tickets/production.aspx?performanceNumber=11671

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Nutty Nutcracker (ballet)
Date/Time: Monday, December 30; 7:00pm
Location: Capitol Theatre (50 West 200 South)
Cost: $29-$79
Sponsor: Ballet West
* We have tickets to this show.

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Disney’s Pixar (concert)
Date/Time: Friday & Saturday, January 3 & 4, 2014; 7:00pm
Location: Abravanel Hall (123 West South Temple)
Cost: $18-$85
Sponsor: Utah Symphony
* We have tickets to the Friday 1/3 show.

Taking Kids to Live Performances

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Theo, age 3, at the Utah Symphony

I was so thrilled when my friend D’Arcy approached me asking for a quote from a mother of a young child about taking kids to live theatre. No surprise, I had plenty to say on the subject:

Christina Billings, mother to 4-year-old Theo said, “My husband and I have been taking Theo to live performances since he was 2. He has been to the symphony twice, SLAC once, The Children’s Theatre once, and a few of the Rose Wagner Ring Around the Rose children’s shows. I think it is key to find age appropriate shows, but people should not be afraid to bring their kids and expose them to “fancy” settings. I think this early exposure is crucial to him developing a lifelong love for the performing arts.”


I really believe this. I think normalizing situations for kids (taking them to restaurants, taking them to the theatre) reinforces that there are different ways to behave in different settings. What is theatre etiquette? What are table manners in a public setting? Exposing kids to these kinds of environments gives them the opportunity to learn.

Plus, the magic of live performance just can’t be replicated. The energy and passion of the artists are sensed in ways that you can never achieve from watching a show on TV or movie theater. So, go out there. Don’t be afraid. Your kids and you will both benefit.