A youth outreach program to bring education and awareness of classical music and the joy of playing an instrument to the Cape Ann area’s students is an on-going initiative of the CAS. Members of the CAS including soloists, orchestra players and Yoichi Udagawa, Music Director, visited several schools to demonstrate musical instruments. They also invited students from several Gloucester elementary schools to a special sneak preview concert of pieces featured in the January 2007 Family Concert program.

We were so pleased to receive their thank-you notes. Here’s what some of them had to say:

“Thank you so much for coming to Fuller and letting us hear you. I enjoyed it a lot, however my favorite part was the 1812 Overture because of the beat of it. Also if I was to play (an instrument), I would like to play the cello.”
- Alyssa Leaman, East Gloucester School, Grade 5

Marvelous violas
Ultimate trumpets
Surprisingly good composer
Implausibly wonderful drums
Classy clarinets

Super melodies
Tiring tempo
Really tired fingers
Incredible notes
Never ending movements
Great music
Seiken Okada, West Parish School, grade ?

“ I loved the concert … and hope that next year in middle school we will be able to see another concert with different music and maybe even a piece that Rossini wrote. I myself am Italian and know a pasta dish that is named after Rossini. It’s called “Rossini with Sauce” and is very good especially with gooey cheese. Thank you for inviting us to see you perform and play music.”
K.C. Verga, East Gloucester School

“Thank you for performing for us. I wish there was more. I like how you all were on the same beat. The conductor must have been really tired after the performance.”
Samantha Ryder, East Gloucester School

“I liked the concert a lot. My favorite was the William Tell Overture. Right now I’m playing the snare drum. Like you said, my parents didn’t really want me to. I wonder what it is like to be a conductor.”
- Oliver Hull, Essex Elementary

“The concert was magnificent. This was my first time going to a symphony and it was an amazing experience. Say hello to everybody at the Cape Ann Symphony and please tell them they sounded peaceful, sounded calm and sounded proud.”
Katie Glidden, Essex Elementary School

“I loved the way that you talked to the audience. My favorite song that you played was the Overture of 1812 because number one, I saw our pictures on the big screen, number two the sounds were really cool and number three, because you played it really good and the booming and crashing sounds were entertaining….I bet, soon, you will be really famous. Then you can write your own songs and maybe even become composers! I think you played like white doves.. then like a swooping eagle. Thank you so much.”
Emily LaVoie Neves, Eastern Point Day School

“Yoichi Udagawa, you were awesome conducting. Very cool.”
Toni Baptiste, East Gloucester School

“Yoichi Udagawa was the best conductor I had ever seen in my ten year old life! My favorite part of the concert was when you showed the kid’s drawings.”
- Michael Marshall, West Parish School

“Thank you for letting my class go to your performance. I thought it was miraculous the way you could fiddle away on your stringed instruments. Also the way you could blow out your souls with others….I play piano and I wish I could play Morning Mood on it. Thank you also for coming to West Parish school.”
Rachael Shahin, West Parish School

“I think it is amazing how the people on the violin can move their bows so fast.”
Kate Parisi, West Parish School

“I really want to be in the band because of you guys. I really want to be in the symphony when I grow up and play the violin. Thank you Cape Ann Symphony.”
Connor Adkins, West Parish School

“Thank you for coming to our school to show us about the string, brass and woodwind instruments… The performance was better than last year no offense. It’s a little strange that my doctor was in the concert. Thanks for inviting us.”
Alison Lahti, West Parish School

“Thank you for coming to our school and giving us the heads up on the concert which was very helpful. I loved when you played the song from Harry Potter and loved to learn how the concert master tunes up the symphony.”
Emma Paddock, West Parish School

“I liked the William Tell Overture the best of all the songs you played. I cannot pick a favorite instrument since you sounded the best when you all played together!!!! I cannot wait until next year to hear you guys play again! You probably make the people in our school who play instruments jealous.”
- Tyler, West Parish School