Toddlers get an early start with music

Two-year-olds aren’t usually encouraged to play with violins but at LSO Discovery’s Family Saturday Morning on 24 January they got to do exactly that.

EC1 New Deal for Communities (NDC) funded a session for local children at LSO St Luke’s on Old Street, where they got to play with instruments and sing along with musicians from the London Symphony Orchestra.

Gill Parrott, who brought her two-year-old son Jim along said:

“It’s a really great idea. The workshop was really aimed for his age. He loved playing with the percussion instruments along with Wheels on the Bus.”

As well as being fun, music workshops for young children are good for their education. Research studies show that young children with developed rhythm skills perform better at school.

The Family Saturday Morning forms part of a much larger programme of activities offered by LSO Discovery. EC1 NDC has funded parts of this programme including an upcoming free lunchtime concert for under 5s and the LSO St Luke’s Youth Choir. The £16,000 EC1 NDC grant has helped with the LSO’s aim of bringing the Orchestra closer into the local community.

Another Family Saturday Morning is planned for Saturday 25 April. Tickets are £3 and babies under 12 months are free. To book tickets please call the Barbican Box Office on 020 7638 8891, and or more information please call Becca Linton on 020 7382 2535.