June 11, 2008

Music Festival brings ‘Klassics for Kids’ to Anna

by Andrea Hahn

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- The Southern Illinois Music Festival Orchestra, headquartered at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, presents a different kind of “story hour” at the Stinson Library in Anna during the annual Southern Illinois Music Festival.

This year, a string quartet brings Klassics for Kids, a free performance designed for children from newborn to age 8, to the library at 10 a.m. on June 24. Klassics for Kids is an important part of the music festival. Festival founder and artistic director Ed Benyas, and his wife and fellow musician Kara Benyas, designed the program to introduce classical music and the instruments that make it to young children. The Anna performance is one of 18 concerts given just for children during the festival.

For a complete schedule of the 50-plus events all over Southern Illinois and even into Missouri, visit www.sifest.com. While you are there, check out the chamber and orchestra concerts scheduled on June 29 at Blue Sky Winery and the brand new Rustle Hill Winery in Cobden.

Festival sponsors include: SIUC, Illinois Arts Council, The Southern Illinoisan newspaper, WSIL-TV Channel 3 ABC, WSIU Public Broadcasting, Peoples National Bank, Laborers’ Union International-Local 773, Southern Illinois Miners, the City of Marion, Mélange, the Harrison, Hastings, Moore-Corpora, Southern and Garwin Family Foundations, Drs. Hal and Susan Pearlman, Dr. Samuel Goldman, First Southern Bank, Crawford County Arts, Lebanon Fine Arts, BoundlessGallery.com, Shawnee Hills Wine Trail, Carbondale Community Arts, and the Southern Illinois Symphony Patrons Committee.