2026-2027 Youth Concert Series
Be sure to explore our curriculum online for each concert, which will help you prepare your students for their concert experience.
We hope you will join us this season at Kleinhans Music Hall!
The Art of Storytelling: A Symphonic Journey to Oz – For 1st-4th Grades
Follow the Yellow Brick Road to the BPO! This year, we invite you to join us at Kleinhans where we bring the world of L. Frank Baum’s The Wizard of Oz to life through music.
From the shimmering Morning Mood of Kansas to the dark, thrilling shadows of a Night on Bald Mountain, the orchestra will be your guide through the twists and turns of a classic story arc, illustrating how composers use rhythm, melody, and dynamics to illuminate the stories we love. This exciting program takes us Over the Rainbow before taking a magical turn to explore the “untold” story of Oz with music from Wicked. Grab your ruby slippers and get ready for a concert that proves there’s no place like the symphony!
The Art of Storytelling: A Symphonic Journey to Oz – For 5th-8th Grades
Follow the Yellow Brick Road to the BPO! This year, we invite you to join us at Kleinhans where we bring the world of L. Frank Baum’s The Wizard of Oz to life through music.
From the shimmering Morning Mood of Kansas to the dark, thrilling shadows of a Night on Bald Mountain, the orchestra will be your guide through the twists and turns of a classic story arc, illustrating how composers use rhythm, melody, and dynamics to illuminate the stories we love. This exciting program takes us Over the Rainbow before taking a magical turn to explore the “untold” story of Oz with music from Wicked. Grab your ruby slippers and get ready for a concert that proves there’s no place like the symphony!
Symphonic Folktales
Join the BPO and conductor Grant O’Brien for a concert exploring the folk roots of the orchestra. Featuring Chickasaw composer Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate’s retold legend, Spider Brings Fire, and Sarasate’s Zigeunerweisen – a showcase of Hungarian folk-inspired violin mastery – this program highlights how diverse cultural voices shape the music we hear today.
Starring 16-year-old Sphinx winner, violinist Alette williams, this performance challenges students to think about how folktales and traditional melodies are the heartbeat of classical music. Come hear the stories that have traveled through generations to reach the Kleinhans stage.
Friday Morning Concerts
These full-length (2 hour) BPO concerts on Friday mornings give middle and high school students a chance to hear complete pieces of repertoire in a casual atmosphere.
Accessible Concerts
Developed specifically to enhance the BPO experience for audience members with disabilities, this visual and interactive concert is performed in the Mary Seaton Room at Kleinhans Music Hall to accommodate the flexible seating needed for wheelchairs and the audience to react to the music in any way they feel comfortable.
This online hub of free youth concert content is for use in virtual or in-person classrooms. Explore video resources with accompanying suggested lesson plans under thematic units like Musical Stories, World Dances, American Voices, Art & Music, Celebrating WNY, The Orchestra at Work, Melody & Meaning, BPO Musical Passport, Our Musical Heritage, and Instruments of the World.
The BPO is a proud partner of Erie 1 BOCES Arts in Education & Exploratory Enrichment programs. For more information please click here.