Photos from KDFC’s Kids Discovery Day at the Tech

We’re still glowing from the excitement of introducing a museum full of children to the joys of hearing live classical music, playing with musical instruments, and even taking a turn at the KDFC microphone. The fourth annual KDFC Kids Discovery Day at the Tech Interactive in San Jose took place Sunday, February 23rd, attracting more than 2,500 of you (some three times average Sunday attendance at the Tech.)

The day-long event featured performances by members of Philharmonia Baroque, the Peninsula Symphony, San Francisco’s Friction Quartet, the Zelos Sax Quartet from San Jose State University, and a splendid quartet of string-playing teens from the Harker School who rocked Dvorak’s American Quartet. Other groups participating in Discovery Day included Music in Schools Today (MUST), Music for Minors, and artists from San Francisco Opera who tested kids’ vocal ranges, in preparation for their future opera careers! The performances culminated with a complete opera for children, Opera San Jose’s production of “Little Red,” a charming retelling of the “Little Red Riding Hood” tale.

Friction Quartet talking to a young fan

Opera San Jose preparing for “Little Red”

“Little Red” in action

Record crowds for “Little Red”

This year we introduced a new activity called “Be a DJ”. In record time, KDFC’s Jonathan Bibayan and Mark Steinmetz built a sort of makeshift mobile radio studio where children donned state-of-the-art headphones and heard themselves talking into a professional radio microphone. Their co-hosts were popular KDFC deejays Robin Pressman, Hoyt Smith, Dianne Nicolini, and Jennifer Miller. We’re certain some of those kids will be future KDFC colleagues!

KDFC’s Dianne Nicolini helping out future DJs at our “Be a KDFC DJ” table

KDFC’s Robin Pressman turn to co-host with the kids

Kids also had the opportunity to make their own instruments in an arts and crafts workshop, visit an instrument petting zoo, take singing and rhythm workshops, and unleash their inner diva with costumes from Opera San Jose. All in all, a truly joyous day of music for children. We can’t wait until our next one! Please bring the whole family to KDFC’s inaugural Kids Discovery at the Lawrence Hall of Science in Berkeley. See you there Sunday, June 28th!

Check out more photos below and videos on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Kids composing their own music at Philharmonia Baroque’s “Composing for Kids” table

A young composer’s piece played by a Philharmonia Baroque musician

Testing vocal ranges with San Francisco Opera

Kids trying on costumes from various operas

Fun at the instrument petting zoo

The Friction Quartet in action