Youth Concert

Since 1953, the Pasadena Showcase House of Arts has held its annual Youth Concert, introducing nearly a quarter million fourth graders to the symphony with a concert S performed by the Los Angeles

Philharmonic Orchestra. And since 2003, the program has been held at the iconic Walt Disney Concert Hall, one of the world’s most remarkable music venues. Here, the hall comes alive with music and laughter as more than 4,000 enthusiastic fourth-grade students experience the wonder of an original, live orchestral theater production.

Designed to weave musical concepts into an appealing storyline, the production often includes humor and utilizes actors, visual effects, and theatrical devices to keep students engaged. Letters from the attendees demonstrate the knowledge they have gained and the joy of the experience. Each student is given a program with lessons disguised in games and puzzles. Teachers are provided printed material to supplement the information taught at the concert.

For most students in the audience, this is their first opportunity to witness the incredible architecture of Walt Disney Concert Hall and their first exposure to classical music. Proceeds from the Pasadena Showcase House of Design, as well as support from the Green Foundation, makes this concert possible.

In previous years, Youth Concerts have featured:

The sights and sounds of French composer Maurice Ravel’s enchanting suite Ma mère l’Oye (Mother Goose)

A Los Angeles Philharmonic original program featuring French composer Hector Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique

An original production centered around French composer Camille Saint-Saëns’ suite The Carnival of the Animals

Music of French composer Claude Debussy, especially La mer (The Sea), along with images from well-known visual Impressionists

An original celebration of German composer Johann Sebastian Bach’s birthday in March featuring his music

Maximus Musicus, a lively Icelandic mouse that explores the music of Iceland

The Firebird suite by Russian composer Igor Stravinsky that brings a monumental superhero clash to life

Celebration of the venue’s pipe organ on its 10th anniversary

For more information, contact youthconcert@pasadenashowcase.org.