Bringing kids

Children like orchestras. What they do not like is sitting still in the dark for two hours, and the trick to a good first concert is not choosing between those two facts but matching the concert to the child. Here is what works at each age, and how to prepare in ten minutes.

Under five

Look for concerts built for them: many orchestras run a "tiny tots" or "lollipops" series of thirty to forty-five minutes, on a weekend morning, with a story, a narrator, and musicians who come down off the stage. There is often an instrument petting zoo where a child can pluck a cello or blow into a trumpet, and that is frequently the part they remember. Sit near an aisle. Leave when the child is done, not when the concert is. Outdoor summer concerts also work at this age, because running around is allowed.

Five to nine

Family concerts, an hour long with no intermission, are the sweet spot: real repertoire cut into short pieces, a host who explains, a theme (space, animals, heroes, Halloween). Film-with-orchestra nights work if the child already loves the film; they will sit through Harry Potter for the music because they are sitting through it for the story. Holiday concerts with a sing-along are a reliable hit. An evening Masterworks concert is usually too long at this age, though a short program with a piece they know can work with a well-timed exit at intermission.

Ten and up

Anything. A film night, a Pops concert, or a Masterworks program with something loud in the second half: The Planets, the Rite of Spring, Tchaikovsky's Fourth, Shostakovich's Fifth, a Star Wars suite. Let them help choose from the concert page; ownership matters at this age. A teenager who plays an instrument will want to sit where they can see that section. Many orchestras sell student tickets for a few dollars, and some let an adult subscriber bring a child free; check the ticket page or ask the box office.

Ten minutes of preparation

The night before, play the child one piece from the program, ideally the loud one, and tell them one thing to listen for: the four-note knock, the cannon, the bit that sounds like a storm. The work pages on this site each have a "first time hearing it" list written for exactly this. Then explain the three things that puzzle children: the tuning at the start ("that noise is everyone checking their instruments match"), the clapping rule ("we clap when the conductor turns around"), and the intermission ("halfway there is a break and we can get a snack"). That is the whole briefing.

Seats

The front rows are not the best seats for a child. From the balcony or the back of the hall they can see the whole orchestra at once, which is what they want to look at, and the sound is often better anyway. An aisle seat makes a quiet exit possible. If the hall has boxes, they are perfect for families: a little room of your own, easy to leave.

During the concert

Bring something silent to hold. Whispered questions are fine between movements; point at things ("watch the man with the big drum"). If the child is restless and the piece is long, the lobby is right there and nobody will judge you. Ushers see this every week. Do not stay for the second half on principle; a happy hour is worth more than a miserable two.

What to say afterward

Ask which instrument they would want to play, or which part was loudest, not whether they liked it. Children remember the cymbal player, the harp, the moment the whole hall went silent, the conductor's hair. Those are the right things to remember. Save the concert on this site, and when the same orchestra plays something similar next season, you will get a nudge.

Find the family series on any orchestra's page, or filter the concerts list by kind. The kinds of concerts guide explains the rest of the season.

Written by OrchestraFinder. Dotted words open a short definition; the full glossary is here.