Chinese zodiac-inspired concert series

PLAY!, the aptly named chamber music series for primary and middle-school children, got off to a great start last year with a debut concert led by pianist Alpin Hong. Titled Transformers: More Than Meets the Ear, the sell-out performance showed how classical music can be accessible and fun for youngsters.

"So many children are out there studying the piano and they don't know why," says Andrea Fessler of concert organiser Premiere Performances. "Alpin showed them that if you practise and become really good at what you do, you can play the music that you love. You can play Super Mario Brothers on the piano. It gives them a purpose to practise.

"Parents told me it was actually one of the most enjoyable concerts that they have been to, as well," Fessler adds. "There were people in the concert hall who wouldn't usually think that they were interested in classical music concerts. They come for their kids, then they discover that they really enjoy it."

This year's programme, which begins next Sunday with Carnival of the Zodiac, may raise the bar even higher. PLAY! gives a fresh take on Carnival of the Animals, as artistic director Haylie Ecker and her colleagues have adapted French composer Camille Saint-Saëns' work to match the different signs of the Chinese zodiac. It's a way to usher in the Lunar New Year.

"I love putting different concepts together to create something that hasn't been done before," Ecker says. "And I think the zodiac fits perfectly with the 12 animals that the Carnival of the Animals is about."

The Royal March of the Lion , which begins the piece, corresponds to the dragon, while the lumbering movement of the elephant matches that of the ox, and the jumping kangaroo mimics the rabbit.

There were two zodiac signs, the monkey and the ram, that didn't fit with Saint-Saëns' composition. So Ecker brought in a friend, London-based composer Dobrinka Tabakova, to write two pieces of music especially for this concert.