Kids meet the classics at Young People’s Concerts

It was certainly a good day for fans of great classical music as thousands of local kids attended the 2019 El Paso Electric Young People’s Concerts.

The students were exposed to everything from the romance of Carmen’s “Toreador” to the thunderous tones of Beethoven’s famous 5th symphony.

“The 5th grader classes from across El Paso get more and more into it and it’s really a sort of chicken and egg sort of scenario,” said El Paso Symphony Orchestra Conductor James Welsch. “I am feeding off of them, they are feeding off of me and it really becomes something special each time we do it.”

Welsch introduces each piece with information about the song’s history and details how his orchestra brings it to life.

The concert is fueled by the belief that the classics can enforce a child’s focus and even help them achieve other academic goals.

The concerts are in their 79th year and have become a signature celebration of the arts for school officials and all local music lovers.

“My 5th grade orchestra teacher, my middle school orchestra teacher, my high school orchestra teacher and my college violin professor are all members of the El Paso Symphony Orchestra,” said violinist Leslee Way. “So it was really wonderful to get to learn from all of them and now i am very fortunate to be able to perform alongside them.”

The orchestra isn’t done yet and will do repeat performances for thousands more students on Thursday and Friday.