Associate Conductor Sarah Hicks leads the North Carolina Symphony and Triangle Youth Ballet in a treat for the Triangle’s youngest music fans. Families can join the orchestra for a colorful artistic take on the sounds and sights of the insect world in “Bug Songs,” Saturday, March 10 at 11:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.

The concerts take place at Meymandi Concert Hall in downtown Raleigh’s Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts.

The Symphony presents favorite bug-themed works for orchestra. Concertgoers of all ages will recognize Rimsky-Korsakov’s unforgettable Flight of the Bumblebee, but the program also features rare performances of less well-remembered odes to our winged and multi-legged friends.

Children will delight in Émile Waldteufel’s Blue Butterflies Waltz and hear the captivating drama unfolding in an insect garden in Roussel’s imaginative Spider’s Feast. The orchestra performs traditional favorites “The Blue Tail Fly”—also known as “Jimmy Crack Corn”—and “La Cucaracha,” among others, and along the way gives demonstrations that show off individual instruments and their unique abilities to mimic the music of the bug world.

The Triangle Youth Ballet joins the Symphony on stage throughout the program to give visual life to these wonderful musical depictions. Founded in 1995 to produce The Nutcracker with talented local dancers, the Triangle Youth Ballet and school honors an ongoing mission of bringing the art of dance to the community through professional training and performance opportunities.

General admission tickets to either NCS Kids performance of “Bug Songs” on Saturday, March 10 are $20. For tickets, visit the North Carolina Symphony website at www.ncsymphony.org or call North Carolina Symphony Audience Services at 919.733.2750 or toll free 877.627.6724.

Young People’s Concerts are designed for families with children ages four to 12. Performances run for an hour and allow families an enjoyable and informative cultural outing, right in downtown Raleigh.

Learn how to save on these exciting children’s concerts, and find links to some of the wonderful online opportunities for children to engage in orchestral music, at the Symphony’s NCS Kids webpage: www.ncsymphony.org/kids.

Meymandi Concert Hall is located in the Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts, 2 E. South St., in Raleigh.