The West Virginia University College of Creative Arts and Media is partnering with the Summit Chamber music series to present “Tyrannosaurus Sue: A Cretaceous Concerto,” on March 6 at 6 p.m. in the WVU Canady Creative Arts Center.
The free, ticketed event takes listeners on a musical journey to prehistoric times when dinosaurs roamed the Earth. It tells the story of Sue, a real T. Rex whose bones were discovered in South Dakota in 1990.
Bruce Adolphe, the writer and composer of “Tyrannosaurus Sue: A Cretaceous Concerto,” will narrate and conduct the family-friendly performance. Adolphe’s story comes to life with the trombone personifying Sue.
“It's a fun, funky piece of music with the goal of conveying the awkwardness of a dinosaur. Enough said!” said Cynthia Anderson, professor of oboe and music theory at the WVU School of Music.
The performance will feature eight WVU School of Music faculty alongside the Summit Chamber group and various other guest artists from around the region. The Summit Chamber group was founded by Sunmi Chang, a former WVU professor of violin.
“To create an engaging hands-on celebratory music experience with music has been Summit’s love letter, of sorts, to our community,” Chang said. “The initial idea came after talking with my friend Michelle who has volunteered and written grants for Summit. Like a lot of parents in Morgantown, we were always on the lookout for fun, vibrant and enriching cultural experiences without having to drive hours away. At the end of that conversation, we came up with the idea for creating a free, community-wide Family Concert and Instrument Petting Zoo, open to anyone, regardless of age, experience with classical music or ability to pay.”
There is no cost to attend the concert and storytelling experience, providing a great way to introduce kids to live music and a fun evening for any music lover.
“Live music makes the space ring with the sound and energy of the performers, and anything can happen,” Anderson said. “It's a fun story that showcases instruments up close and personal, so families can come to be entertained and see how the instruments are brought to life by the artists. It's a perfect way to hear each instrument's unique sound and how it contributes to the whole. I encourage everybody —moms, dads, grandparents, kids, singles, whatever —to come and enjoy what we musicians enjoy doing most—telling a story through the voice of our instruments.”
Families who attend the performance are invited to stay after for a host of post-concert activities, including crafts, a read-aloud, a T-Rex photo opportunity and an instrument petting zoo where kids can view and interact with different instruments.
Tickets for “Tyrannosaurus Sue: A Cretaceous Concerto,” are available at go.wvu.edu/ccam-tickets.