VALDOSTA – Inside Whitehead Auditorium Saturday, Oliver Wynen playfully banged both hands on a tall, wooden conga.

The 3-year-old’s dad, Phil Wynen, helped him keep the beat during the annual Tunes for Tots event presented by the Valdosta Symphony Guild.

Phil Wynen brought the whole family to event to give his kids, Oliver and 1-year-old Charlie Wynen, exposure to the arts. Before Oliver got to bang on conga, he and about a hundred other kids listened to the Valdosta Symphony Orchestra perform inside the Valdosta State University Fine Arts Building.

The orchestra played classics such as “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” and the “Star Wars” soundtrack to the excitement of kids and adults alike.

Doug Farwell, executive director of the orchestra, said the event is an opportunity for kids in the community to hear all of the instruments in an orchestra.

The event kicked off with an introduction of each instrument that started with the strings and ended with the percussion.

“We want to have young people experience the sounds and beauty of music at an early age before they go into fourth or fifth grade where they may start picking out an instrument,” Farwell said. “Here, they get an idea about the kind of instrument they may want to play.”

He said music is important for children because it helps them express themselves and communicate with others.

Howard Hsu, conductor and music director for the orchestra, said playing an instrument helped him come out of his shell when he was young, and he hopes this event will give kids the same opportunity he had.

“Growing up, I didn’t talk a lot,” Hsu said. “My parents had me start playing the violin, and I started playing in youth orchestras, which forced me to start talking with other people. When you have an instrument, it helps you express yourself in a way words maybe can’t.”

The South Georgia String Project joined the orchestra. The String Project is a joint venture between the VSO and VSU Department of Music that provides low-cost, after-school stringed instrument instruction to community students ages 8 to adult.

Kristin Yu, director of the string project, said there are no other string programs in the community or string education programs in any school.

Most schools have band and choir programs, but do not teach kids how to play string instruments, she said.

“Strings fill out a symphony orchestra, so they are necessary,” Yu said.

Yu, a violin professor at VSU who has played the violin since she was 4, said she grew up in a community in Kentucky that emphasized strings. 

“Strings are considered the heart of the orchestra, so they are pretty necessary,” she said. “(Without this program), they wouldn’t have the opportunity otherwise to play these instruments. And you never know, there could be a child who is really gifted and could really take to this kind of instrument.”

Once the performances were completed, kids were set loose in the fine arts building, which was converted into a petting zoo of sorts. It allowed children a chance to try all of the instruments of the orchestra.

Families had the chance to learn more about the Valdosta Symphony Orchestra’s educational programs, including its Youth Concert Series.

Cookies and juice boxes were provided for those in attendance. Admission to Tunes for Tots was free, and no tickets or reservations were required.

Thomas Lynn is a government and education reporter for The Valdosta Daily Times. He can be reached at (229)244-3400 ext. 1256