In 1997 Gemini began performing family concerts with symphony orchestras. Since then they have presented concerts with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, (Leslie Dunner conducting) the Kansas City Symphony (Bruce Hangen), and many others (for complete list, see below).
Their February 2000 concert with The Phoenix Ensemble resulted in a live recording, "The Orchestra is Here to Play!", which has since won a Parents Choice Award and a special Judge's Award from the ChildrensMusic Web.
Gemini family concerts with orchestras are approximately one hour long, of which 50 minutes consists of Sandor and Laszlo'soriginal songs, as well some traditional songs and stories from several cultures and musical traditions, played jointly by the brothers and the orchestra. In addition, Gemini plays solo for five minutes and the orchestra also plays solo for five minutes.(Recommended piece is Hungarian Dance #5 by Brahms.) The concerts are aimed at elementary age children and their families. The arrangements are suitable for full orchestra, but can be adapted for smaller, chamber orchestra ensembles.
San and Laz love to involve children in their music and often invite local childrens choirs to join them for the last four songs of their concerts with orchestras. This adds extra richness to the concert, as well as helps to bring in a larger audience.
Gemini's orchestral arrangements have been created by Mr. Bo Ayars. Mr. Ayars has worked extensively making orchestral arrangements for artists as diverse as Elvis Presley, Barbra Streisand, Judy Collins and many others. He also frequently guest conducts Pops concerts with orchestras throughout the United States. For a number oif years, he also served as musical director of the Capitol Steps, the political satire troupe based in Washington D.C.
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To hear a medley from the concert with the Phoenix Ensemble of Ann Arbor,
click here (MP3, 2.213mb).
To see what people have said about Gemini's orchestra concerts, click here.
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