Springfield Symphony Orchestra’s Youth Education Concert Returns on March 17

SPRINGFIELD — The Springfield Symphony Orchestra (SSO) will host its annual Education Connections concert for fourth-graders from Springfield area schools on Tuesday, March 17 at 10 a.m. at Springfield Symphony Hall.

The concert, which will host approximately 1,600 fourth graders from Springfield Public Schools, will be conducted by Jorge Soto and narrated by WWLP-22 News meteorologist Brian Lapis. More than 40 students from the Montessori School of the Berkshires in Lenox will also be in attendance.

The program, titled “The Orchestra Sings,” will feature an intersection of music and education tailored specifically for fourth-graders, featuring nearly 60 SSO musicians and three vocalists on stage who are students studying music education at Westfield State University. This year’s program is a continuation of last year’s program, “The Orchestra Moves,” and both programs are from the Carnegie Hall Weill Music Institute’s Link Up program.

The concert will feature an introduction to the symphony orchestra, its instruments, and the fundamentals of music theory. Students will experience the various sections of the orchestra, from strings to brass, woodwinds, and percussion. The performance aims to ignite a passion for classical music through a blend of live performance, interactive elements, and educational insights.

Student mentors in Springfield’s IGNITE program will welcome students to Symphony Hall, as well as share the ways in which they’ve found inspiration through music education.

“The Education Connections concert is our chance to welcome students to an interactive and accessible experience with a professional orchestra, at a historic theater, and to foster a love for both music and learning in the Greater Springfield area,” SSO Education and Youth Programs Manager Max Jordan said. “It’s my favorite part of our mission as an orchestra in the community we serve, where we’re able to work together with schools to promote arts education for all.”

Soto is based in the Boston area with an active and diverse career in both North and South America. He is the principal conductor of the United Nations Festival Orchestra for Hope and the New Philharmonia Orchestra in Newton, and the principal guest conductor of the Massachusetts Symphony Orchestra in Worcester. Born in Venezuela, he is a product of El Sistema, an innovative program that uses classical music as a vehicle for social change. He is now involved with the Kids 4 Harmony program in the Berkshires, a free, intensive classical music program for youth from some of the most underresourced communities in Berkshire County, and inspired by the same El Sistema program.