PADUCAH, KY - The McCracken County Public Library and the Paducah Symphony Orchestra will present Beethoven’s story and music, Thursday, Nov. 14 at 10 am in the library's meeting room.  This performance is especially for home schooled students and the general public. With free admission, this program is designed for 3rd, 4th & 5th grade students and will last one hour. 

The Beethoven edition of Musical Story Time connects history, math, music, art, reading, social studies and drama for a fun and educational experience.

Mary Grinnell, pianist extraordinaire, will represent the symphony and portray the legendary Elise, a student of Beethoven for whom Fur Elise was written. She will perform several of Beethoven’s most famous pieces. Storytellers Cherri Cunningham and Retta Folsom will discuss Beethoven’s life and read excerpts of Beethoven by Mike Venezia.

Amy Allen, musician and educator, will teach the Children’s Ode to Joy, which is taken from Beethoven’s great 9th Symphony and a poem of brotherhood by Friedrich Schiller. After learning the song, students will be lead through a simulation of Beethoven’s deafness when he experienced the music being played for the first time emphasizing how Beethoven overcame his physical limitations.

A bookmark featuring Elise and the words of Ode to Joy will be given to all attending.

Information provided by Madeline Anna Hart, Paducah Symphony Orchestra.