Year 4 students from both the Werribee and Melton campuses joined together on Friday 31st May to see the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra perform 'The Peasant Prince' at Hamer Hall.
The MSO brought the beautiful picture book, 'The Peasant Prince', to life through the art of music. Based on his best-selling memoir, 'Mao’s Last Dancer', this work narrates, with words and music, the inspiring story of Li Cunxin’s childhood and follows his subsequent journey to become one of the world’s greatest ballet dancers. The pictures from the book were shared on the screen, which helped to enhance the experience.
The piece was conducted by Australian-born Ingrid Martin. It is her personal mission to make classical music interesting, relevant, and engaging for everyone. She certainly achieved this goal through this performance, as the students were captivated by her words and leadership over the musicians.
Katy Abbott, MSO Composer in Residence, explored the themes of her work with illuminating demonstrations with the orchestra before the story was shared. This helped to introduce the different families of instruments and their sounds and character to the audience.
The students thoroughly enjoyed the whole excursion and especially loved being able to visit the very fancy toilets and the grand auditorium!