Simsa lives in Vienna and has made a life making classical music interesting to children. His catalog features the works of Johann Strauss, Mozart, Vivaldi, Haydn, and Bach. His work also includes arrangements of classic fairy tales and operatic selections.
During the concert we attended, we were able to listen to five works which were performed by an on-stage orchestra. Simsa offered insight into the composer's life, the instruments played, and the pieces themselves often in a funny, kid-friendly way.
Simsa taught audience members how to do the polka, a song to accompany the Tritsch Tratsch polka, and several 'dance' moves that could be done from the comfort of our seats. Littlest and I danced onstage with the orchestra to The Blue Danube Waltz, so Littlest got to see the instruments up close. Bop and Log were a bit too timid to dance on stage in front of the audience.
The concert was incredible, and as we left the theater, I purchased two CDs: one featuring the day's concert and the other Peter and the Wolf. The kiddos have listened to the CDs almost non-stop since. It was a great outing that perfectly complemented our studies of the orchestra's beginnings.
An interview featuring Simsa speaking about one of his projects, Mozart's A Little Night Music
These videos weren't filmed during our performance but feature works we heard including this one, Bop's favorite:
Littlest enjoyed the Pizzicato Polka because the violinists plucked the strings instead of using their bows.
Log enjoyed the Radetzky March, in part because it lauds an Austrian Field Marshall.
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