Family-friendly concert Bear Hunt will play classic bear-themed tunes

The City of Southampton Orchestra and the New Forest School of Dance have come together to produce a show of classical music and dance called Bear Hunt.

The concert, conducted by John Traill, will take place at the Central Hall, Southampton.

The Central Hall is a ‘fish-bowl’ style concert hall, with more than 700 seats around the orchestra pit.

The family concert has been popular in the past with recent productions selling more than 1,000 tickets.

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The orchestra hosts a family concert annually and has worked alongside the New Forest School of Dance for many years.

Jos Creese, chair of the City of Southampton Orchestra, said: “It’s all about bringing orchestral playing closer to children. They may play these instruments in school, and it’s good for them to see what they can aim for in the future, when they get better.

“We often work in collaboration with others. Working with the New Forest School of Dance is historic, we’ve had connections with them for at least ten years.”

Jos said that there is a variety of performers and instruments at the concert. 

He said: “There’ll be harps and all different types of brass. We are all established musicians at grade eight upwards, our eldest player is eighty, and the youngest is a student in university.”

The New Forest School of Dance is an amateur dance school, showcasing students aged 12-16 in the Bear Hunt show.

The principal of the dance school, Mary Richardson said: “It’s just wonderful for our girls to dance alongside live music. The children come alive with live music. It’s a lovely family event as well, performing to little children.

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“A parent of a pupil was in the orchestra, then they invited us to be involved. I think we thought it would just be a one-time thing, but they enjoyed having our girls dance for them and the girls just love the live music! It [the live music] really is the most wonderful thing. It’s great to get that connection and dance alongside another organisation.”

The organisations chose the ‘Bear Hunt’ theme as it has been popular with their audiences in the past. The orchestra will play classic bear-themed tunes including that from the Jungle Book, with the New Forest dancers dancing to at least four of the pieces.

Children are encouraged to bring their own teddy bears to show, narrated by Phil Cheeseman.

The event takes place on Saturday, January 21 at 11am, and 2pm.

Children’s tickets start at £5. Go to ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/southampton/central-hall/family-concert/2023-01-21/d-kppqoksvmaxpg