Music

The Marin Music Chest has launched its annual scholarship audition program in its ongoing effort to provide financial support to Marin County students studying classical music. Students studying wind and string instruments, piano and voice are encouraged to appl, and all scholarship applicants must be residents of Marin County for a minimum of two years and have at least two years of music study prior to the audition.

Junior Division instrumentalists must be between 10 and 13 years old and vocalists between 14 and 16. The Junior Division application deadline is February 12, 2010, and auditions will be held March 13, 2010. Senior Division instrumentalists must be between 14 and 19 years of age and vocalists between 17 and 24. The Senior Division application deadline is February 26, 2010 and auditions will be held on March 27, 2010.

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Now that the New Year is upon us, it’s once again time to sign up the kids for winter and spring classes. One thing my kids really enjoy are music programs. They love to sing and dance to the music and play the different instruments offered. We’ve tried a few different classes around Marin and the North Bay, and really like the Kindermusik programs offered here in Novato by Music with Melissa and the Mary Ann Hall's Music for Children. Regardless of which program you choose, there is a music class for every child from newborn to grade school.

If you’re thinking of getting your child involved in a music class, then now’s the time to sign up. Many classes have begun or resume their sessions in the next few weeks. Here’s an updated list we’ve put together of a variety of local music programs and classes. If we’ve left out your favorite class then please let us know, or, better yet, leave a comment and tell everyone why you and your kids love it!

Kindermusik

• Classes in Novato
  Ages: infant to 4 years
  Piano lessons for ages 5 to 9
  www.Musicwithmelissa.com
• Classes in Mill Valley
  Ages: newborn to 3 years
  www.babybirdsmusic.com

Mary Ann Hall’s Music For Children

• Classes in Mill Valley, Novato, Ross, San Rafael
  For ages toddler -7 years
  www.musicforchildrenca.com/

It seems that there's a new hip and cool kids' music act born every minute. This is actually a good thing, since it means that there's plenty of quality music out there that not only appeals to the little ones but to their parents as well. At the forefront of this movement is former '80s rocker Dan Zanes. Once a member of the Del Fuegos, Zanes has since turned his sights on realm of music for children and their parents. He's been successful at it, too, winning a Grammy in 2007 for his album Catch That Train! You've probably seen his videos in rotation on the Disney Channel's Playhouse Disney between shows (if not, you can check them out here).

Anyhow, Dan Zanes and Friends are currently on tour and plan on making not one, not two, but three appreances at UC Berkeley's Zellerbach Hall, as part of the Cal Performances Family Fare series. Special pricing for these shows means that children ages 16 and under are half-price for all performances; normal ticket prices are $16 or $26. Dan Zanes and Friends performs two shows on Saturday, March 6, at 11 am and 4 pm, and another show on Sunday, March 7, at 3 pm. Order tickets online at www.calperfs.berkeley.edu or call (510) 642-9988.

Bring the kids to the Dream Circle Holiday Concert at Marin Center on Tuesday, December 8, 2009, featuring an all-star local lineup including Tim Cain, Judy Nee (AKA Miss Kitty), Cindy Cohen, and Christopher Smith. This holiday family performance will feature songs from their It’s a Holiday CD that includes music for a diverse lineup of winter holidays, including Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Chinese New Year.

There will be 2 shows, at 9:30 am and 11 am, at Marin Center’s Showcase Theater in San Rafael. Advance tickets are required: (415) 457-4878. The Showcase Theater is located at 10 Avenue of the Flags (off Highway 101) at the Marin County Civic Center in San Rafael. For directions, go to the Marin Center's website. Read our 2008 review of the Dream Circle CD here.

Take a trip back to the 18th century and learn about music with eight-year old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart via the children's TV show Wunderkind Little Amadeus. This animated series is designed for children ages 4 and up, and not only keeps them entertained, but educates them about music through the adventures of young Mozart and his friends. Wunderkind Little Amadeus can be seen on KQED Kids daily at 8:30 am, or on a new four-DVD set of the entire first season (which we're giving away here to one lucky reader; keep reading for details).

Each episode features a colorful mix of real historical and imagined characters, including the precocious boy Mozart, his sister Nannerl, his parents Leopold and Anna Maria, his best friend and neighbor Kajetan Hagenauer, and Mozart's dog Pumperl. Also prominently featured, of course, are the musical works of Mozart. There's also a villain, Lorenzo Devilius, an official at the court of Salzburg's Prince-Archbishop Sigismund von Schrattenbach, who, along with his talking rat sidekick Monti, plots against the young Mozart and his family (but thankfully never succeeds). Obviously not all of the characters in this German-produced series are historical people. I'm pretty sure Devilius is made up, for instance, and I can't find any evidence that Mozart ever had a dog named Pumperl, but it's all in good fun.

Here's a cute new music video from singer/songwriter and early childhood music educator Brian Vogan, for That's How a Pumpkin Grows from his CD Little Songs. (You can read our review of Little Songs here.) It's a catchy tune that's perfect for the autumn season and Halloween. Enjoy!

Looking for the right tunes to set the mood for your Halloween party? The Chills might be the very thing you're looking for! In fact, if your kids are like ours, this CD will get quite a bit of air time around the house, even when it's not Halloween. The Chills are billed as "An un-dead version of the Village People," but are in reality are local singer/songwriter Ira Marlowe and his Brainy Tunes team. Ira's put together a CD of terrifying tunes that children and families will find both spooky, hilarious, and irresistable.

Tracks include songs about ghosts (Ghost Story, Haunting School), mad scientists (Brat Machine, The Long and Curious Saga of Dr. Trulaine), the Blob, creepy little men (Fear of Little Men), and other spooky things. Favorites in our home include Here Comes the Mummy, and Boogerman's Theme. Some of the lyrics are definitely on the scary side, and The Creeps is recommended for children 5 and up. That doesn't stop our 3-year-old from loving the album, though, so it all depends on the kid, ultimately.

This fall, Marin's own Golden Gate Opera presents its production of Hansel and Gretel at the Marin Veterans' Memorial Auditorium in San Rafael. This opera version of the Brothers Grimm story (by the 19th-century German composer, not the '70s singer…) is a favorite of families worldwide and tells the story of the two young title characters who stumble upon the witch's gingerbread house while lost in the woods. This production will be sung in English.

Performances are Friday, October 23 at 7:30 pm and Sunday, October 25 at 2 pm.

Hansel and Gretel (Hänsel und Gretel in the original German) has been popular with adults and children since its premiere in 1893, and is often performed around Christmas. Its music is influenced by both traditional German folksongs and the works of Humperdinck's mentor, Richard Wagner.

Golden Gate Opera's Hansel and Gretel is directed by international opera star Edna Garabedian, and features Geoffrey Gallegos conducting the Golden Gate Opera Orchestra and a professional cast including Diana Tash (Hansel), Lauren Woody (Gretel), Valentina Osinski (The Witch), and others. Children from SingersMarin's Starlights and the Shan-Yee Poon Ballet School will appear in the roles of gingerbread cookies and the guardian angels who protect Hansel and Gretel at night in the forest.

Tickets are $65, $55, $40, and $30, with premium seats going for $75. Students and children are half-price. For more information and tickets visit www.marincenter.org or www.goldengateopera.org.