Photo: Members of the Sistema New Brunswick Children’s Orchestra Prepare to Perform Wild Symphony
New York Times bestselling author Dan Brown will join forces with the Sistema New Brunswick Children’s Orchestra in four exciting performances of Wild Symphony, Brown’s multi-faceted orchestral portrait of the animal kingdom that’s been performed around the world since its release.
The New Brunswick performances of Wild Symphony will be held in Moncton and St. Andrews on June 11 and 12. Brown, The New Brunswick Youth Orchestra (NBYO), and the New Brunswick Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (EECD) are creating a novel multi-disciplinary educational package to extend the impact of the events across New Brunswick and to children and schools nationally and internationally.
The Sistema NB Children’s Orchestra includes 120 musicians, 14 years of age and younger, unique in North America.
Brown has sold more than 200 million books, most notably the Robert Langdon series including Angels and Demons and The Da Vinci Code, which became a blockbuster movie starring Tom Hanks. The American author says his first love is music.
“My parents were both musicians and teachers, and I grew up practicing classical piano, singing in choirs, and attending lots of concerts. Music was a secret sanctuary for me as a child… Even now, I play piano every day, usually after I finish a long day of writing,” Brown said.
Wild Symphony consists of symphonic music, an illustrated picture book, poetry, and phone app, all of which are available to explore at wildsymphony.com. Brown has agreed to participate because of his desire to support the goals, track record, and impact of the Sistema NB program of the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra. The event will benefit efforts to expand Sistema NB services to more children.
Bill Hogan, Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development, said almost 5,000 school children will attend the live concerts, either in person or through live streaming events at local schools.
“Wild Symphony is a significant opportunity to showcase the role of Sistema NB and The Province of New Brunswick as leaders — not just in Canada, but internationally in the space of music education and social impact,” said Hogan, who reported EECD has purchased Wild Symphony books for all schools in NB in English and French.
The curriculum and livestream performance will be shared with all New Brunswick schools, the Sistema Canada Network, and El Sistema USA, which encompasses more than 150 programs and tens of thousands of children and youth in North America.
As a personal passion project, Brown composed Wild Symphony to engage children and families in auditoriums to experience live orchestral music together.
The performance will help raise funds to support Sistema NB’s “10,000 Children” vision and plan — a commitment by the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra to greatly expand access to its Sistema NB program for more children and youth in the province.
This Wild Symphony performance is sponsored by TD Bank, a founding supporter and partner of the NBYO’s Sistema NB program.
Wild Symphony reaches stages across the globe. Follow the link below for information on each concert in Canada and to see where the critically acclaimed production will land next.
