Kids’ concert at The Met a family thing

The cymbals clanged. The triangle tinkled. The timpani bellowed from the back of the stage.

Rhythm ruled for a brief hour at The Met on Saturday afternoon as the voices of percussion instruments were brought to life by Men in Black 4. Better known as the Spokane Symphony Percussion Ensemble, the four guys produced a musical mélange that delighted the children in the audience, many of whom couldn’t wait to do their own banging at home.

The KPBX Kids’ Concert was the family thing to do on Saturday as hundreds of youngsters and grownups filled The Met in downtown Spokane for the free show. It was a chance to hear all the different sounds you can make by hitting, scraping or shaking various objects. It was also an opportunity to learn about the diverse instruments and rhythms that can be found all over the world.

“We’re going to take you on a trip to Africa,” said Brian Bogue, one of the Men in Black 4. “That’s where drumming really started.”

Many in the audience bobbed their heads and swayed their bodies as they listened to the hypnotic beat of the djembe, a goblet-shaped drum, hand-carved from tree trunks and with goat skin fastened to its drum shell. Later in the program, the percussionists brought them to Cuba by teaching kids to clap the syncopated rhythm pattern of clave, the base of all other beats in salsa and Latin music.

They also created some unusual noises using instruments rarely seen on stage: the whack of a wooden slapstick; a popgun simulating the sound of a cork screw popping from a champagne bottle; a lion’s roar – or something like it – by using a towel to pull a string attached to a drum.

“I liked hearing the lion sound,” 5-year-old Caelan Angell commented after the show. “I like all the tunes and all the sounds they make.”

His mom, Kirsten Angell, who just moved the family to Spokane five months ago, was thrilled to find such an educational event for her children. “It’s great to have access to good music,” she said. “I just loved it.”

Many who came to Saturday’s show said they were regulars at the monthly Kids’ Concerts, which take place at various venues in the area and feature an array of music, including classical, folk and pop. The shows draw kids of all ages – infants in slings, toddlers in strollers, all the way to youngsters in middle school.

While some of the musicians who perform at the Kids’ Concerts travel from out of town, the vast majority come from the Spokane area, said Janean Jorgensen, who’s in charge of KPBX’s marketing.

“Not only are we introducing kids to different kinds of music, they also meet role models,” she said.

Kathy Sackett, the station’s events coordinator came up with the kids’ concert idea 10 years ago. It was a way to teach children about music and to encourage them to sing in a choir or play an instrument, she said.

At that time, area school districts were forced to make cuts in their music programs so the shows helped fill that void. The concerts also supported KPBX’s mission of promoting the arts in the community, Sackett said. Throughout the years, the station has made every effort to ensure that the concerts are free to the public.

“It offers a lot of diversity,” said Naomi Weitz, who came to Saturday’s show with her sons, 7-year-old Skyler and Asher, who’s 2. The percussion performance “taught the kids about different cultures,” she said.