June 12, 2008

‘Klassics for Kids’ set for June 25 in Carterville

by Andrea Hahn

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Klassics for Kids, part of the Southern Illinois Music Festival, headquartered at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, comes to the Carterville Community Center at 10 a.m. on June 25 with a free performance for the youngest of listeners.

Ron Coulter presents percussion instruments in a program designed for children from newborn to age 8. 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 Carterville performance is one of 18 concerts given just for children during the festival.

The Festival is one of the largest of its kind in Illinois. Highlights include performances of Rossini’s opera “The Barber of Seville” at the Sesser Opera House and at Shryock Auditorium on the SIUC campus; chamber and orchestral music on the Shawnee Hills Wine Trail; the Festival Orchestra performing a patriotic music concert on the infield at Rent One Park, home to the Frontier League baseball team, the Southern Illinois Miners; and ballet performances at the Marion Cultural and Civic Center and Shryock Auditorium.

For a complete schedule of the 50-plus events, visit www.sifest.com.

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.