Notes Alive:On the Day You Were Born [VHS]

ISBN 10: 0965381803 ISBN 13: 9780965381802

Publisher: Blackboard Entertain, 1997

About this title

Review

This creative video from the Minnesota Orchestra is a great way to introduce youngsters to symphony music. Author Debra Frasier reads her bestselling children's book that celebrates the world we live in, and her colorful drawings are changed into computer animation and scored to new music by Steve Heitzeg. The Aaron Copland-style symphony includes very curious instruments (goat hooves and seashells). The 30-minute program cuts back and forth between the computer animation and the symphony performance, and conductor Bill Eddins is a dynamic host when he introduces the concept of a "storyconcert" and takes a few minutes to interview the composer and author. This first tape in the Notes Alive series (which includes My Many Colored Days and Nutcracker: The Untold Story) is fun for audiences ages 2 and up, but 5- to 7-year-olds are at an especially great age to be introduced to such music. This is a unique, creative tape that won several awards, including the American Library Association's Carnegie Medal for Best Children's Video of 1997. --Doug Thomas

Review

On The Day You Were Born is a specially-commissioned symphone composed by Steve Heitzeg and based on the popular chldren's book by Debra Fraiser. Narrated by Debra Frasier, On The Day You Were Born is a "NotesAlive" concert for children, the video features an animated cast of characters ranging from a herd of reindeer to a tiny child. On The Day You Were Born is a celebration of the natural world that features the family of sun, moon, oceans, rain, trees, animals and people welcoming a child to Earth. The video brings this story to life through music, entwining shots of animated characters with the Minnesota Orchestra musicians as they perform. On The Day You Were Born is a wonderful concert experience for young viewers. -- Midwest Book Review

Edition details

• Publisher: Blackboard Entertain
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0965381803
• ISBN 13: 9780965381802
• Binding: VHS Tape