We have a winner

Getting up close and personal with a tuba after our recent visit to an MSO performance

I had a giveaway on Segovia the other day.
The winner of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Classic Kids Sing tickets for a family of 4 is......

High Country Gourmet

I have sent you an email and look forward to arranging your tickets.
Thank you to those who entered.
Happy Wednesday one and all.

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Giveaway - You know you want to SING!

We love a bit of a sing at our place.
There is singing along with Play School and with Giggle and Hoot.
We always sing the Goodnight Song with the boys. It's part of the night time ritual.
There is some singing in the shower and sometimes in the car.
Singing gets us to our happy place, usually a little more quickly than a chat.
The boys singing and music tastes are broadening as they get older.
And I admit to being more than a little chuffed when I went to kiss the Batsman goodnight in his bed the other night. He had fallen asleep, but not before he had begun playing the Black Eyed Peas in his bedside CD player.

Do you like to sing at your house?

If you do, and you are based in Melbourne, then this giveaway is for you.

I have a family pass for 2 adults and 2 children to attend the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Classic Kids program, SING! I have been to a couple of the MSO performances for kids and they really are a fabulous way to make music part of your children's lives.

Date: December 1
Venue: Iwaki Auditorium at the ABC Southbank Centre in Melbourne.
Time: your choice of 10am, 11:30am or 1:30pm sessions.

More details about SING!:
"One of Australia’s pre-eminent conductors and a passionate advocate of the importance of singing in a child’s life, Richard Gill, and singers from Victorian Opera, will join forces with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra to lead a stimulating musical program for children which will explore the joy of singing and inspire aural imagination through song. "

If you would like to win and go have a SING!, all you have to do is:

1. You must be in Melbourne!
2. Leave a comment below telling me what you sing at your house. 
3. Follow Segovia - here or on Facebook
4. Ensure that you are contactable by leaving an email address with your comment or via your profile.

The giveaway is open until midnight on Monday November 12, 2012.
The winner will be drawn randomly. Prize value is $50.

The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, autism style

The Batsman and I were very lucky to be invited to go and see Classic Kids 3: Clowning Around with Melvin Tix on this Saturday just past. The performance was part of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra's "Family Classic Kids" program which aims to introduce kids to the delights of instruments and music. I was so very keen for us to go to the concert (and take along the Batsman's best friend in the whole wide world, the Curly Haired Girl) but I was nervous at the same time given the Batsman's fairly regular episodes of extreme sensitivity to sound. Our Batsman loves music and so this opportunity was way too good to pass up. Sometimes you have to travel through a bit of a storm to get to the really amazing experience of a rainbow on the other side.

Lasting about forty five minutes, the performance of the orchestra gave children an amazing, close up experience with a full orchestra in an acoustically perfect auditorium. Wow. The genius in the performance is that friendly clown "Melvin Tix" is also the conductor, a fellow musician, balloon artist and all round funny (but gentle) leader of the show. His presence gave the children a pathway down which they could travel to find out about all the components of an orchestra. Intelligent, Accessible. Child-friendly. Fun.

When the full orchestra first played, the Batsman said "Mummy, it's too loud for me". The music coming from the orchestra was beautiful but yes, intense. Out of my handbag came the trusty headphones which he wore faithfully for the duration. They don't block the sound, they just reduce it so he was still able to hear and participate fully in the performance, albeit with a little less intensity for his ears. This was the very first time we had used the headphones and they worked a treat. The audience size is small so it really worked for the Batsman from an autism point of view, he wasn't overwhelmed by a huge crowd and there was the option of sitting right up close or a little further away. He also had the Curly Haired Girl by his side like she has been since they were both six weeks old.

Here's us at the MSO, autism style.




We have headphones!



Melvin Tix and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra



Conducting the orchestra with Melvin.



Bravo! Applause all round.


 I'm just so glad we took the chance (and the headphones) and did it.

Disclosure:

1) I received tickets for 2 adults and 2 kids to attend the performance as the guests of the MSO. The Batsman and the Curly Haired Girl loved the performance so I am writing about it. I also wanted families of kids with ASD to see that this is potentially an accessible, child friendly entertainment experience.

2) My photos are a little bit dodgy because I left the camera at home. Enter smartphone.