Outreach Programs

• Symphony Safari
• Guest on the Go
• Strings Attached
• Lobby Concert
• Hi Notes
• Concert Curators

Symphony Safari
The OSO’s sponsors believe in music education. Many of them have paid for hundreds of schoolchildren and their chaperones to hear the orchestra perform a live Masterworks concert each season. Without the support of caring individuals and education-minded business leaders, many students could not afford this experience.

Besides a Masterworks performance, Symphony Safari brings to classrooms Maestro Nicholas Palmer, Education Director David Goodwin and the OSO’s guest artist, all of whom provide music instruction at the school before the concert. However, it doesn’t stop there. The lessons continue inside Cannon Hall on the night of the concert.

Through Symphony Safari, we hope to bring every child in Daviess County to a live orchestral performance before he/she graduates high school.

Musicians in the Community
This program brings OSO professional ensembles to perform for community organizations, area businesses, nursing homes and civic events.

High Notes
Before each Masterworks concert one of the OSO staff preview that evening’s concert. Held on the Holbrook Balcony Lobby of the RiverPark Center, High Notes helps audiences listen better and enjoy the music more. Guest artists sometimes demonstrate their instruments. This event is free to the audience.

Lobby Concerts
Local musicians perform in the lobby during intermission and prior to most OSO Masterworks concerts. These performances offer young musicians invaluable experience in front of appreciative audiences and in a professional setting.

Strings Attached
This program brings hands-on violin instruction to the classroom. Nancy McLain, the program’s coordinator and instructor, is an OSO violinist and has been a string education specialist in schools for 25 years. She visits fourth- and fifth-graders with 32 half- and three-quarter-size violins, purchased with grant money from the Yeager Charitable Trust.

Guest on the Go

This OSO program allows students to meet guest artists who perform worldwide. These professional musicians give informative and entertaining demonstrations, recitals or master classes.

David Goodwin, the OSO’s education director, comes to the classroom with guest artists. Goodwin offers an age-appropriate discussion of core content relevant to the music.

Return to Education page.