Thank you for joining us for Once Upon a Symphony!  Below you will find a variety of tools and activities to help you and your child(ren) prepare for the concert.

LEARN THE STORY

Introduce your child to the story of The Three Little Pigs. We suggest some of these beautifully illustrated books, which can be found at your local library or bookseller or online at Amazon.com:

Please note that the Once Upon a Symphony adaptation of this story differs slightly from other versions.  The focus of our story suggests that, combining courage, hard work and individual talents, leads to success.  Please draw attention to the following characteristics of the story:

  • The Three Little Pigs each work at different speeds to make their houses.
  • By finding the courage to work together, each at their own speed, the pigs successfully build the house of bricks, which the Big Bad Wolf cannot destroy.

LISTEN before the concert, using our Spotify playlist. Access the playlist below or at this link. You can listen to the tracks freely, or you can explore how the music portrays the activities or images suggested, which are central parts of the Once Upon a Symphony performance:

  • Till Eulenspiegel by Richard Strauss: This music illustrates the personalities of the three little pigs.
  • The Flight of the Bumblebee by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov: This music demonstrates how fast, medium and slow the pigs work to build their houses.
  • Lullaby by Johannes Brahms: This music is sung by the mother pig as her children travel off into the world. See if you and your child can sing the lyrics with the melody.

Piggies three, piggies three,
Have you listened well to me?
Can you hear me from afar
Wherever you are?

Take your time, do things right,
And you’ll sleep safe tonight.
Take your time, do things right,
And you’ll sleep safe tonight.  

  • Siegfried – Fafner excerpt by Richard Wagner: This music portrays the Big Bad Wolf blowing down the houses.
  • Symphonic Dances by Edvard Grieg: This music celebrates the collaboration and courage it took for the three little pigs to build a strong house made of bricks.