The concert was totally sold out, rammed with a heady mix of keen parents, excited 4-6 year olds in furry animal costumes
I took my own ‘What’s On’ advice yesterday and checked out the FUNOmusica Family Concert ‘Animal Antics’ at Oxford Town Hall.
It’s the brainchild of Alasdair Malloy, principal percussionist with the BBC Concert Orchestra who does a great sideline in educating and enthusing children about classical music and instruments in association with the Oxford Philomusica.
The concert was totally sold out, rammed with a heady mix of keen parents, excited 4-6 year olds in furry animal costumes and indifferent toddlers who refused to focus on proceedings – including, it has to be said, my own rather tired, hungry Cassius who loudly proclaimed ‘This is bor-ing!’ to the echoing rafters before sliding to the floor in protest.
It wasn’t boring. It was great. Malloy is obviously an old pro at this type of thing, a kind of classical Mr Tumble, and carefully had mothers making tiger noises, dads being wolves, grandparents sounding like owls before he ventured to ask the children to join in as monkeys.