'Hip-Hop Peter and the Wolf' in a Family Concert on Sunday

The family concert "Hip-Hop Peter and the Wolf" will be the centerpiece of an afternoon of musical fun for kids Sunday at the Alex Theatre in Glendale.

Beginning at 1 p.m., children age 5 and up can experience the joy of music, interactive performances and activities at the Alex with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra.

The Family Concerts take place on Sunday afternoons throughout the concert season. The “Instrument Petting Zoo” opens at 1 p.m.  There the kids get to manipulate and play real instruments, and engage in other pre-concert activities.  The concert starts at 2 p.m.  The programs are short and are intended to introduce children to classical music.  The youngsters get to ask the musicians questions as well.

In "Hip Hop Peter and the Wolf," Prokofiev’s classic musical tale is presented with a delightful twist.  The program features the energetic, young and unconventional PROJECT Trio: Greg Pattillo on flute, Eric Stephenson on cello and Peter Seymour on bass.

Consummate musicians all, the PROJECT Trio members comprise a fun group that enjoys the element of surprise in their performances. The trio, which tours internationally, has drawn high praise.

“They combine the fire and refinement of the finest classical chamber ensembles with the stage presences and energy of rock stars,” said Adam Luftman, principal trumpet of the San Francisco Opera and a faculty member at UC Berkeley and San Francisco State. Critic Mark Hinson of the Tallahassee (Fla.) Democrat applauded the trio's "high-octane chamber music."

In addition to the Prokoviev piece, there will also be three works written by PROJECT Trio:  Fast, Winter in June and Random Roads Suite.

The Family Concerts series is one of several put on by the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, which has been called “America’s finest chamber orchestra" by classical music radio station KUSC-FM program host Jim Svejda. The 40-member chamber orchestra began in 1968. Since 1997, the group has been led by conductor and renowned pianist Jeffery Kahane. The orchestra’s first four music directors were Sir Neville Marriner, Gerard Schwarz, Iona Brown and Christof Perick.

The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra offers a home season of 14 Orchestral Series concerts at two historic theaters, the Alex Theatre in Glendale and UCLA’s Royce Hall; its acclaimed Baroque Conversations series at Zipper Concert Hall; a series of three Family Concerts at the Alex; and Westside Connections, a series of three chamber music concerts with an interdisciplinary twist, at The Broad Stage of the Santa Monica Performing Arts Center.

For more information about the orchestra's concerts and activities, see its Web site at laco.org.