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Welcome to Classical Kids LIVE!

Introducing the extraordinary lives and musical masterpieces of the great composers to future generations.


Double Your Impact – Help Us Reach the Stars! 🌟


Now is the time to support Classical Kids. Thanks to the generous pledges of Peter Ascoli (in memory of Lucy Ascoli), Nancy Dehmlow, Mary Houston, and Paul & Sue Freehling, all donations will be matched dollar for dollar up to $12,500!

Your gift today goes twice as far – and it couldn’t come at a more critical moment. Like many arts organizations, we’re facing unprecedented challenges, including the loss of a major NEA grant.

🎶 Your support helps keep music and education alive for the next generation.

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END OF YEAR RECAP

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Over the past two decades, Classical Kids LIVE! has collaborated with hundreds of distinguished orchestras to present over a thousand performances of Susan Hammond’s best-selling audio stories for student and family audiences to more than two million children and adults across the globe.

Our magically staged concerts bring to life the extraordinary legacies and the musical masterpieces of the great classical composers. Classical Kids has received more awards and honors than any other entity of its kind; we are considered a leader in our field, and we’re proud to say, “We’re making a difference!”

Check out the SIX productions Classical Kids LIVE! has to offer:

MORE PRODUCTION INFO

PERFORMANCE FEEDBACK

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Orchestra Feedback

It is always a pleasure for us to work with Classical Kids Live! You are so well organized and so professional, and your actors are top-notch, allowing us all to focus on the artistic rather the logistic aspects of thsese presentations... as it should be. Thank you for partnering with us to make classical music literally come alive for our young audiences!
Joan Katz NapoliThe Cleveland Orchestra
Thank you! It’s a great show, as evinced by the attentive audiences, and I am very happy that we could include in our season. It was very rewarding to hear so many enthused comments from the audience as they left the performances. The music is obviously selected with extraordinary care and fits perfectly to the spoken texts, and you have marvelous performers too!
Nigel BoonNational Symphony Orchestra
After ten years of doing these shows, I still find them intelligently created, beautifully produced and acted, and with all of the right touches on music that we care about deeply. Any orchestra seeking to broaden its audience would be wise to engage Classical Kids Live. You are simply the best. Congratulations and keep up the good work!
Don ReinholdWichita Symphony Orchestra
Thank you for crafting such an artistic, educational, and entertaining enhancement for our series of School and Family Concerts. It’s a delight to work with such creative and hard-working artists who bring a great deal of energy and enthusiasm to projects created for young listeners and their families/teachers. Your organization and attention to detail made this a truly smooth and enjoyable process.
Ayden AdlerThe Philadelphia Orchestra Association
It was an absolute delight, and our audience was clearly engaged with the performance from start to finish! Classical Kids serves to anchor my season. The story and visuals help to hold the attention of the younger children, while the older ones really do engage with a deeper understanding of both the music and the period. Our audiences love these productions and I will continue to book on an ongoing basis.
Roberta SmithToronto Symphony Orchestra
My warmest thanks to you and the Classical Kids Live family! You all were an absolute pleasure to work with from start to finish. Thank you so much for your truly outstanding performances, which certainly made a significant impact on the students and teachers in attendance. I’ll look forward to working with you again!
Dr. Janice CrewsAtlanta Symphony Orchestra
The show was wonderful! It was flawless. The actors did a great job. It was a real pleasure. Your professionalism, preparedness and complete control of details makes all of us perform better! We love Classical Kids. We sell out. You are really terrific: talented, easy to work with, reasonable. I give an A+ to Paul Pement and his team. Thank you!
Henry NixonYork Symphony Orchestra
My confidence in the quality of your production, the drama, and your actors, was completely confirmed not only in my estimation but in the reaction of our audience as well. A number of comments came in that it was 'the best thing ever, ever, in this region. Feel free to pass on my unqualified praise for you, your crew, the production materials, and your approach.
David CommandayHeartland Festival Orchestra
Thank you for your first-class performance, preparation and organization! This was the most quiet, completely enthralled audience we have ever had at a Family Concert. We look forward to working with you again on another of your productions!
Mark FischerOrlando Philharmonic
Thank you all for making a positive, memorable musical adventure for over 1,300 youngsters and their families. We have received some wonderful testimonials in the past three days! What struck me was how this program touched each member of the audience. For some it was through the music, for others it was the emotion, for yet others it was the acting- just what good teaching does by hearing, seeing, and doing. I am sure that it will start many on their life-long love of music!
Mary Steffek BlaskeAnn Arbor Symphony Orchestra
I so appreciate everything you worked so hard to do that brought the story, the representation, and the music to life for our community here in Charlotte. Thank you for making both children & families' formative experiences with classical music so accessible, engaging, energizing, and entertaining. I will continue to cheer on the phenomenal work of Classical Kids Live and look very much forward to whichever CKL show I'll have the good fortune of conducting next!
Christopher James LeeResident Conductor, Charlotte Symphony Orchestra
Thank you so much for bringing another fantastic Classical Kids Live performance to Charlotte. It was wonderful to work with you again, and to see one of the first performances of Saint-Georges’ Sword and Bow! Your shows are always so thoughtful, and I admire the way they can touch on heavier topics in a gentle way that is accessible for kids. Please pass our thanks along to Kelvin and Demetra! They were brilliant in their roles, and I am sure the performance was impactful for the children and their families. Looking forward to working with you again soon!
Carrie GrahamSenior Director of Artistic Planning, Charlotte Symphony Orchestra
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Critical Acclaim

One of the most completely wondrous examples of children's entertainment ever!"
Billboard
“Art made accessible: nobody does it better than Classical Kids!”
Entertainment Weekly
“The best way to unlock the mind and heart of a child to the wonders of musical masterpieces!”
New York Daily News
“Classical Kids are far and away the best for introducing children to classical music!”
Boston Herald
“…draws children into another century with entertaining and literate biographical drama…the composer’s music is interwoven into the story and comes alive!”
LA Times
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Audience Feedback

I loved the show! Just a fabulous production from start to finish and in every way. You guys are fantastic. I am so happy you exist. You are raising the quality of music education and performing arts for my children's generation. I can't wait to experience more outstanding works from you. I know the experience will enrich my family's life. Keep up the good work!
Mary Beth PooleMother, Writer, Director, Educator
The students loved the performance! They were mesmerized. What a wonderful way to introduce children to the classics. It is a gift to be able to respect children and their creative minds and understand how to approach and engage them. You have that gift. Thank you so very much!
Jeanette HopkinsTeacher, Grandmother, Great Grandmother, Children’s Book Author
Beethoven Lives Upstairs was just fantastic - so well done and quite moving! You have put together the most engaging show, appealing both to children's intelligence and their imagination. Congratulations and thanks for a wonderful experience!
Helen CarrollAudience Member
Simply stated, “clearly outstanding performance”! Thank you for what you do and the effort you extend as you entertain and educate those of us in attendance. We deeply appreciated your performance!
Bud Van SlykeFather
The children and I LOVED Gershwin's Magic Key! I knew it would be swell yet I was blown away! What a total joy it was for me to introduce George Gershwin to my 3 grandchildren and expand their experience in the world. I was moved to tears at this concert. We gave a standing ovation!
Sharon RoseGrandmother
This show was absolutely wonderful! The performance brought tears to my eyes and my children were captivated. They are still talking about it. Thank you so much!
Christina RodriguezMother
Thank you so much for bringing such a magical show to our community! This was the first time I had seen a production like this and I was enthralled with this amazing concert!
Carol BradshawAudience Member
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DON'T MISS THE NEWEST CLASSICAL KIDS ADVENTURE,

SAINT-GEORGES' SWORD AND BOW!

Jonah D. Winston as Joseph Bologne and Brandi Jiminez Lee as Giselle at DePaul University

Check out this behind-the-scenes look at some of the superb fencing in Saint-Georges’ Sword & Bow!

Kelvin Roston Jr. as Joseph and Demetra Dee as Giselle, fight choreography by Nick Sandys

LEARN MORE ABOUT SAINT-GEORGES' SWORD & BOW

NOW AVAILABLE!

TEACHING RESOURCES FOR CLASSROOM AND HOME SCHOOLING

Pay-what-you-can during this limited time offer!

LEARN MORE!

LATEST NEWS

Fall Newsletter 2024

In This Issue: FALLing in love with Music, Season Kick-Off, NOW BOOKING 25-26, Kids Music Day + Edu Resources, 24-25 Grand Tour, Support Classical Kids!

Read More »

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Program Goals

Classical Kids Music Education recognizes that the principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) are vital to a fully realized cultural and artistic life for all individuals. Our mission is to provide children with an exciting and educational point of entry into the world of classical music by humanizing the lives of the great composers, creating an emotional connection to their musical masterpieces, and inspiring a personal excellence that leads to greater achievement and success in life. For far too long, the ideas of who the great composers are and which are the important stories of music history have not been built on cultural inclusion and equity. Consequently, we also recognize that Classical Kids must do the important work of expanding our own programming and repertoire to promote these ideas within our organization, audiences, and collaborators.

Moving forward, Classical Kids has identified three new programmatic goals:

  • Expand our Every Orchestra, Every Child Initiative to include discounts for orchestras that book Classical Kids, as well as a percentage of discounted or no-cost performance tickets for children and families who face financial challenges and/or limited access to the arts.
  • Translate Beethoven Lives Upstairs for Spanish-language performance and/or Spanish supertitles, and eventually do the same for Mozart’s Magnificent Voyage, Vivaldi’s Ring of Mystery, Tchaikovsky Discovers America, and Gershwin’s Magic Key.
  • Develop productions that reconsider and expand our ideas of the great composers, starting with Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, who is widely regarded as the first classical composer of African heritage. Classical Kids has committed to and engaged BIPOC artists in the creative development process.

Fundraising for these initiatives is a priority in the coming seasons as ongoing, multi-year efforts to help Classical Kids become a more just, inclusive organization for our audiences, our artists, and our collaborators.
We will also continue our current outreach efforts, such as our Licensing Initiative and our school residency Music Inspires!, examining how we can change or expand those programs to prioritize EDI.
Our organization’s leadership also continues to review organizational structure and practices to identify and implement structural and/or administrative changes to promote EDI within Classical Kids.

We hope you will be part of this change! Thank you for your support of Classical Kids, our mission, and these new initiatives!

GIVE TODAY!

A heartfelt thank you to our Angel Donor Berit Helser
for her ongoing support!

Click the image to learn more about how Berit's generosity helps expand our reach to deserving children around the world.

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