The Florida Orchestra will launch new full-orchestra Family Concerts on both sides of the bay in the fall to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Moon landing. Historic NASA video and images of the lunar surface will beam onto the big screen, as kids and their parents sing and dance along to music about space travel and the skies during the interactive concerts, called One Giant Leap. Tickets go on sale Monday, August 12.
The Sunday afternoon concerts are geared for the whole family and revolve around a milestone moment: July 20, 1969, when Neil Armstrong became the first human to walk on the Moon. The concerts will be part live music, part family activities like the Instrument Petting Zoo and part fun education, including an introduction to the instrument families of the orchestra.
TFO will perform One Giant Leap on Sunday, October 27 at the Straz Center in Tampa at 2 p.m. and Sunday, November 3, at the Palladium Theater in St. Petersburg at 2 p.m. Lobby activities, including the Instrument Petting Zoo, start at 1 p.m. Tickets are $8 per person in advance/$10 at the door; ages 3 and under are free. Tickets go on sale August 12 at FloridaOrchestra.org and 727-892-3337 or 1-800-662-7286. Facility service charges apply.
The 45-minute concerts feature ‘Jupiter’ from Holst’s The Planets, selections from E.T. by John Williams, Star Trek: Into the Darkness by Michael Giacchino and Apollo 13 by James Horner, along with works by Strauss, Mozart, Debussy and more. TFO Associate Conductor Daniel Black will conduct the full Florida Orchestra, which includes 67 full-time professional musicians.
The afternoon starts with TFO’s Instrument Petting Zoo, where kids can try out violins, trombones, flutes and more, along with other lobby activities. The petting zoo is sponsored by TFO’s North Suncoast Associates, a volunteer patron group.
Music Director Michael Francis opens his fifth season with The Florida Orchestra in September. It celebrates 250 years of Beethoven and beyond, including Beethoven’s Fifth, the music of The Beatles, Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, Holiday Pops and much more.
Season tickets are on sale now at FloridaOrchestra.org; single tickets to all concerts are available August 12.
