Sound All Around
2019-20 Season
In Center City at the Academy of Music Ballroom
Saturdays and Mondays at 10 AM and 11:15 AM
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Nurture your child's passion for music! Sound All Around is a great introduction for youngsters and features members of The Philadelphia Orchestra and award-winning storyteller and host Charlotte Blake Alston.
Each concert introduces the audience to a member of the string, woodwind, brass, or percussion family, and the final concert features all the musicians from the season playing together in an ensemble. Concerts are 45 minutes long and a great way for kids, families, daycares, and school groups to have fun with music.
For a fourth season, we specifically welcome children with sensory sensitivities and their families to our relaxed sensory-friendly Saturday performances. Find the Pre-Concert Story here. Our aim is to create a safe and accepting environment where children, including those on the autism spectrum and with other developmental disabilities, and their families can experience live music together. "I'm thrilled to see The Philadelphia Orchestra welcoming children and families who often do not have the opportunities to experience and enjoy the arts in a public and community space," said Roger Ideishi, program director for Temple University's College of Public Health Program in Occupational Therapy. "This initiative demonstrates The Philadelphia Orchestra's commitment to providing music enrichment for ALL children and families regardless of ability level."
The Sound All Around concert series is endowed in perpetuity by the Garrison Family Fund for Children's Concerts.


Almost anything in the world can become a percussion instrument if you use your imagination! Philadelphia Orchestra percussionist, Don Liuzzi, will guide you through these big and small, loud and soft instruments. We'll clap our hands and stomp our feet through this performance!


Sound All Around, a concert series endowed in perpetuity by the Garrison Family Fund for Children’s Concerts, introduces young audience members to the joy of music through fun, engaging programs designed for 3–5 year olds. Each performance focuses on a different family of instruments, giving young music lovers an informal opportunity to listen to stories with live music performed by members of The Philadelphia Orchestra and get an up-close look at instruments. Concerts are 45 minutes and are hosted by award-winning storyteller Charlotte Blake Alston.


Meet the biggest string instrument we have! While violins and cellos are easy to notice, the bass section is always at the back of the stage. Join us and meet one of our bass players, Nathaniel West, and learn all about that bass!


Presenting: the brass family! The brass family is the loudest of the orchestra, and can be heard from far, far away, making its instruments perfect for fanfares and announcements. This family includes the trumpet, trombone, French horn, and tuba. Brass players produce sound by buzzing their lips into the mouthpiece. Philadelphia Orchestra musician Matt Vaughn will guide the audience through this regal instrument family.


Join us for the fun and interactive Sound All Around Ensemble Concert. Clap, stomp, sing, and dance with members of The Philadelphia Orchestra and famed storyteller Charlotte Blake Alston as we learn about, and celebrate, music and the orchestra. You'll get an up-close look at all the special instruments we've featured this season and get to hear how they create beautiful music when played together. Don't miss the final Sound All Around of the season.