Waukegan Park District hosts Young People's Concert

The Waukegan Park District - Cultural Arts Division invites children of all ages to the annual Young People's Concert Saturday, Feb. 22.

The event will begin at 11 a.m. in the Waukegan High School Trapp Auditorium, 2325 Brookside Ave., Waukegan.

Each spring, the Waukegan Symphony Orchestra offers a program designed to appeal to the child in all of us.

This year, the program will feature the Waukegan Symphony Orchestra performing a selection of animal-themed pieces under the baton of Music Director Stephen Blackwelder.

The program includes Vaughan-Williams' "Overture to The Wasps," Anderson's "The Waltzing Cat," the finale to Haydn's "The Bear" Symphony, Mancini's "Pink Panther," and Saint-Saëns' "Carnival of the Animals."

Piano soloists in the Saint-Saëns work are the prizewinning pianists 15-year-old brother and sister Nicolas and Nova Xu. Listeners will be introduced to the sections of the orchestra and then invited onstage to explore the instruments at the conclusion of the concert.

The audience will also be treated to the narration of Saint-Saëns work by Rodney Stapleton, a Chicago bass with a long list of credits to his name.

Admission is free for students 18 and younger; youth 12 and younger should be accompanied by an adult. Adult tickets are $5.

For details, call the Jack Benny Center for the Arts at (847) 360-4740.

Additional information about the cultural arts programming may be found online at www.waukeganparks.org or www.jackbennycenter.org. Information may also be found when you visit the Jack Benny Center on Facebook and Twitter.