5 Fun Ways to Expose Kids to Live Performance
With late night jazz gigs, long sit-down classical concerts and crowded pop gigs, it’s easy to see live music as something aimed solely at adults and teenagers – if this is the case, how do we encourage our children to be enthusiastic about live music? Well, there are many fun ways to inspire children to get involved and experience some really great musical events. We’ve compiled a list of easy ideas that will do just that.
1 – Lunchtime recitals
Classical music is a big and important part of our history, but with television, games, curfews and a new set of social expectations, it can be difficult to find convenient times and ways to expose our children to it nowadays. However, we are very lucky in Greenwich to have such a rich musical culture – at St Alfege’s Church, free lunchtime recitals are open to the public almost every day. They are often quite short and have a break in the middle, so are great for young kids with too much energy to sit through an entire concert.
Why not check out the website by clicking here to see what’s on?
2 – Buskers
In London, you can find a wide array of musical talent from all genres, and with great Conservatoires and music courses dotted around the capital there is an abundance of quality and talent. From Covent Garden and Camden to Greenwich foot tunnel, it’s easy to stumble across some really brilliant performers.
Click here for a list of busking hotspots to get some ideas!
3 – Live Music Restaurants
There are a few child friendly restaurants that have live music in the day, often for Sunday dinner or to make use of an evening stage during the day. You can pay The Big Red Pizzeria a visit from 2pm until 4pm on a Saturday or Sunday for a spot of live jazz, or visit The Vanbrugh later in the afternoon on a Sunday for some more live music, usually performed by students from Trinity Conservatoire of Music.
4 – Carol Singers
Christmas time in London is magical, and for us, one of the main contributing factors is the abundancy of carol singers. At pretty much every Christmas light display, Christmas market or big shopping centre you can stumble across some really great festive street shows!
Have a look on the TimeOut website for some ideas.
5 – Flashmobs
If you’ve ever witnessed a flashmob, you’ll know that they’re exciting, inspiring and do a great job of bringing the community together in awe of something really unexpected. You don’t always just have to be lucky to find one though – flashmobbers have their own website where they advertise up and coming events.
Have a look and see if you can catch one soon – it’s definitely worth it!