Children's Concerts

Whilst a student at the Queensland Conservatorium, Mark, alongside Nancy Weir, was involved in organising and compering ‘Kindy Concerts’ – concerts for preschool children. In 1975 this culminated in a coach tour through outback Queensland and the Northern Territory to schools and Aboriginal Reserves, bringing them music and instruments most of them had never seen nor heard.

In London, the concept of ‘Concerts for Children’ started in 1983 when Zamira Menuhin (daughter of Yehudi) and Mark started a series of children’s concerts in private homes. The concerts ran for 14 years for two groups of children – under 5’s, and over 5’s. Each concert featured a different orchestral or ethnic instrument and was designed to nurture a love of music, preparation for enjoying formal concerts and the development of the awareness of musical concepts. ‘Concerts for Children’ also performed at large public concerts for charity. These concerts were a huge success with all 800 seats sold in advance, and featuring artists such as Lord Yehudi Menuhin and Tamas Vasary, Hayley Mills and pupils of the Menuhin School.

Between 2002 and 2011, Mark compered a very successful and popular ongoing series of Children’s Cushion Concerts at the Jacqueline de Pre Music Building at St Hilda’s College, Oxford, where over 500 people attended regularly. Subsequently, the concerts were taken into Oxfordshire State Primary and Special Needs School to supplement its music education program.

There have been two off-shoots of the Children’s Concerts. One is two Mini Musicals, which Mark has written, The Adventure of Atmas and Animals to the Rescue, both 20 minute musicals able to be learnt and performed in a day by children aged 6-10, with an accompanying adult.

Secondly is Teaching Tots, a  handbook and workshop-led course to enable parents and piano teachers to introduce the piano to very young children (as young as 3) through play and games, treating music as a language to be learnt through play, exposure and experience, rather than formal ‘teaching’.