Additional photos follow this article.

By Paula Pyzik Scott

This week members of the Lima Symphony Orchestra treated children at Bluffton Public Library to an entertaining Symphony Storytime.

The “Dancing in the Snow” program mixed reading, music and movement in a dynamic mix that included periodic invitations to dance, move and march. The LSO’s Lydia Butterfield read several picture books, while flutists Erin Torres and Lindsay Baker, and oboists John DeGruchy and Rayanne Nye played musical interludes and accompaniments. 

The traditional English carol “In the Bleak Midwinter” was used to prepare listeners for The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats, which tells of a boy exploring fresh snow on a winter’s morning. The instruments punctuated the story with musical flourishes and famous classical themes.

In between picture books, the children learned about the instruments and how they work. For example, Torres compared making sounds on the flute to blowing across the top of a pop bottle to make a deep tone. The highest and lowest notes on the instruments were demonstrated.

Following the stories and dancing, the families were invited to examine the instruments up close and to talk with the musicians.

Sponsors that make LSO Symphony Storytime programs free are State Bank, Arnold C Dienstberger Foundation, G.A. Wintzer and Son Co., Thermal-Gard Window and Door, Wapakoneta Area Community Fund, Van Wert County Foundation and Findlay-Hancock County Foundation.

For more information:

Bluffton Public Library
145 S Main St, Bluffton, OH 45817
419-358-5016

Lima Symphony Orchestra
1028 W Market St, Lima, OH 45805
419-222-5701