Toy Symphony

“The expressions on the children’s faces were so moving, I will remember the day for the rest of my life. The whole orchestra and I unanimously agree that [Toy Symphony] is one of the most important things we have ever done, and that we will now commit more and more of our time, energy and budget to forwarding the agenda of introducing music to the next generations.”  – Kent Nagano, conductor, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin

On February 24, 2002, Toy Symphony received a highly successful European preview with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester in Berlin under Conductor Kent Nagano with guest Hyperviolin soloist Cora Venus Lunny. Scores of children throughout Berlin participated in school events and Toy Symphony workshops – excelling as performers and composers, and the sold out Open House and Concert created great buzz in Berlin through extensive print, radio, and television coverage both before and afterwards. An exciting pre-launch for the project.

• Toy Symphony – Project homepage, with a wealth of information about the pedagogical philosophy, structuring a concert and the music toys (no longer available except for Hyperscore software). Click on Multimedia for information about the Toy Symphony workshops and concerts that were held in Berlin, Dublin, Glasgow, Boston and New York.
• Toy Symphony – This Technology Review article describes the U.S. premiere of the Toy Symphony project, which featured Hyperscore compositions by children.
• Toy Symphony in Berlin – Video of workshop and concert
• Toy Symphony World Premiere in Dublin (2002)
• Listen to hyperscore pieces composed for the Toy Symphony Project.