The Lexington (Mass.) Symphony has received a $5,000 grant from Target Corporation to subsidize student tickets and scholarships for its Orchestrating Kids Through Classics (OKTC) program. Since its launch in January 2009, OKTC has engaged nearly 10,000 elementary school children in the greater Boston area by introducing them to orchestral instruments and the history of classical music, in both a classroom and a concert setting. It starts with a school visit by four Lexington Symphony musicians, who introduce students to the different orchestral instruments. A few weeks later, students come to Cary Hall in Lexington or Memorial Hall in Framingham for a one-hour Lexington Symphony concert led by Music Director Jonathan McPhee, which takes the students on a tour of orchestral music from its earliest days through Star Wars. OKTC is open to home-schooled children as well as those enrolled in area schools. In addition to the Target grant, support for the program has come from Shire HGT, the Lexington Education Foundation, People’s United Bank, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Posted September 17, 2013
