Spotlight On

Mission: The Little Orchestra Society (LOS) presents live classical music performances for children and adults in ways to enhance their enjoyment and deepen their understanding of the music. Performances for children are multi-disciplinary and demonstrate music instruments and ideas, using the music of composers from a variety of cultures and many historical periods. Performances for adults include commentaries by the conductor and guest hosts that give audiences a framework for enjoying and understanding the concert by giving them the historical and musical background for the music to be performed. LOS is committed to building new audiences for classical music.

Background: LOS is a professional mid-size ensemble which performs music for any instrumental combination up to 60 players and is known for its wide diversity of repertoire. LOS has presented many New York and American premieres, including works commissioned for the Orchestra. Since 1979 it has served the culturally disadvantaged through its Chance for Children and Project 65 Plus community outreach programs. Through Chance for Children, over 215,000 children have been introduced to the joy of classical music.

Current Programs: Lolli-Pops concerts for children ages 3 to 5. With Mr. Maestro and 4 animal characters - Buzz the Bee, Bang the Lion, Bow the Panda and Toot the Bird - representing the 4 sections of the orchestra, LOS weaves drama, dance and art into these interactive performances. From October to June LOS presents nine different concerts over nine weekends at the Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College. Its concert "The Orchestra - A Happy Family" is available on videotape and DVD.

In the Happy Concerts for Young People at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall LOS presents yearly three concerts of great works of music enhanced by dialogue, audience interaction and guest artists, for children ages 6 to 12.

Sound Discoveries at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall explore the wide variety of music composed for and available to a classical orchestra in the last 100 years.

Vivaldi's Venice at Alice Tully Hall presents the works of Antonio Vivaldi and his contemporaries in 18th-century Venice, and modern music written with Vivaldi in mind.

Cathedral Concerts - Great Music Under a Byzantine Dome, are December and April sacred music concerts at the Greek Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity on East 74th Street.

Recent successes include:

• February 19, 2003: The Language of Foreign Film Music, featuring the music of Nino Rota, Fellini's longtime collaborator, and narrated by film critic Jeffrey Lyons, at Alice Tully Hall.

• March 1, 2003: Peter and the Wolf by Sergei Prokofiev, staged as a play within a play in the mythical Russian village of Petrograd, at Avery Fisher Hall. Peter & the Wolf is available on CD and cassette.

• March 19, 2003: A concert verson of Victor Herbert's operetta Eileen at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall, narrated by award-winning actress Lynn Redgrave.

• April 5/6, 2003: Saint-Saens' Carnival of the Animals came to life when drawn on stage by award-winning illustrator Brian Selznick, at The Kaye Playhouse.

• April 13, 2003: Mozart's Requiem and other selections at Greek Cathedral on East 74th Street, Manhattan, with soloists, the LOS Orchestra and Metropolitan Singers/The Greek Choral Society.

• May 7, 2003: Tango Vivaldi, featuring the Four Seasons of Vivaldi and the Seasons in Buenos Aires of Astor Piazzolla,with violin soloist Kurt Nikkanen and narrator Lynn Redgrave.

Funding Needs: In order to keep ticket prices at a reasonable level and offer the free concert experience to New York's public school children, LOS needs financial support to meet the rising costs of a professional orchestra and hall rental for its concerts. Contributions will be gratefully received at the address above.

Every month, the "Spotlight On" highlights the activities of a different 501(c)3 nonprofit organization located in the tri-state region (NY, NJ, or CT). The selection of organizations for the "Spotlight On" is based on criteria such as programmatic interests, geographic focus, and size, to ensure the broadest possible representation of the region's nonprofit sector.

If you'd like to see your NPO in the "Spotlight," please use this submission form to send us a profile of your organization. Or e-mail a description of your organization, following the above format, to NYWeb@foundationcenter.org, with "Spotlight Submission" in the subject line.