Original Young People's Concerts

In seeking to create a new type of Young People’s Concert, Maestro Gerard Floriano has developed a more immediate and captivating connection between young audiences and the great orchestral repertoire.

An experienced and dedicated music educator, he has researched young populations charting their interests, consulted education experts, and discussed his ideas with his own in house audience sample - his children.

He has taken this information to heart, creating a series of innovative and stimulating classical programs for the future generations of young audiences.  Maestro Floriano has written a series of three programs which can be presented individually, or in succession over several dates.  Each 45-minute production includes a symphony orchestra, selected repertoire taken from the standard orchestral literature, Maestro Floriano on the podium, and professional actors in character.

Floriano's productions include stagecraft, costumes, dancing, and theatrical elements to bring the scripted story to life.  Each of his concerts tell a story, weaving the music into an engaging storyline, discovering new characters and historical facts along the way.

In one of the programs, Professor Millie Poof (a kind-hearted, funny and clever witch) encounters Tygrieve Troll who lives in Fingal's Cave.  Tygrieve, displeased with having been disturbed, nevertheless shares with the audience the back-story of Mendelssohn’s classic overture.  Dancers and magical stagecraft accompany the orchestra’s ensuing performance of the work.

The bottom line is to present "the best of our art form in a manner which is at once informative, yet engaging", Gerry says with commitment.  He is constantly combing the repertoire for interesting connections to themes, musical periods, and different musical concepts.