“We are very proud of our Education Outreach Programs, which consist of an annual ‘Side by Side Concert’ each spring for high school musicians grades 9-12 and Annual Youth Concerts designed for students in grades 3 through 8 in the fall,” says Ronald Demkee, Allentown Band Conductor.

The Allentown Band’s “Family Concert: Fabulous Fables” is at 2 p.m. Nov. 2, Miller Symphony Hall, Allentown. The concert were presented for Lehigh Valley school students, 10 a.m. Oct. 31 and Nov. 1.

The program includes the children’s classic “Peter and the Wolf” by Serge Prokofiev, and “Aesop’s Fables” by Lehigh Valley composer Dr. Scott Watson with narration by Allentown Band member and music educator Emile Guida. The concert closes with selections from “The Lion King” arranged by Calvin Custer.

The concert opens with Watson’s arrangement of four Aesop fables.

Says Watson, “I was commissioned to compose ‘Aesop’s Fables’ by the West Chester University Wind Ensemble and director Dr. Kenneth Laudermilch and I’m thrilled to have the Allentown Band perform it.”

The source material was “The Best of Aesop’s Fables” by Margaret Clark with illustrations by Charlotte Vocke, a book which Watson read to his children.

Aesop may have been a Greek slave who lived 620-564 BC and is purported to have written a collection of well-known stories, known as fables, designed to teach moral lessons. In his fables, he cleverly used animals associated with particular characteristics to represent human beings involved in moral dilemmas. The number of fables written by Aesop ranges from 600 to more than 700.

“I chose four fables represented in four movements,” continues Watson. “The first movement is the exciting ‘The Hare and the Tortoise,’ the moral of which is slow and steady wins the race.

“The second movement is the somewhat unsettling ‘The Boy Who Cried Wolf,’ which provides a lesson against playing games with the truth.

“Next is the reflective ‘The Dog and the Bone,’ where we learn about contentment versus envy.

“The final movement is the triumphant ‘The Wolf and His Shadow’ addressing the dangers of pride.”

Watson wrote the music fashioned as a film score. Each fable is accompanied during the concert with an animation video on a large screen.

The concert continues with the Joseph Paulson arrangement of Sergei Prokofiev’s symphonic folk tale “Peter and the Wolf” (1936). The director of the Moscow Central Children’s Theatre commissioned Prokofiev to create a work to introduce children to the individual instruments in an orchestra. “Peter and the Wolf” centers on a boy and his animal friends capturing a wolf wherein each character is represented by a different instrument.

“And as a special treat, dancers from the Repertory Dance Theater will perform, representing the various characters,” says Demkee.

The final concert piece, arranged by Calvin Custer, features selections from Walt Disney’s animation feature, “The Lion King,” with music by Elton John and Tim Rice and score by Hans Zimmer. Selections include “Circle of Life,” “This Land” and “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King.”

The concert concludes with the National March of the United States “The Stars and Stripes Forever” (1896) by John Philip Sousa.

Watson is Associate Professor of Music Theory and Composition in the School of Music at Cairn University, Langhorne, Bucks County.

For 35 years prior, he was an instrumental and elective music teacher in the Parkland School District where he was high school Director of Band, then Elementary Instrumental Coordinator.

He teaches as an adjunct instructor at Moravian University.

Watson received a Bachelor of Science Music Education from West Chester University and a Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts in Composition from Temple University.

Allentown Band, “Family Concert: Fabulous Fables,” 10 a.m. Oct 31, Nov. 1, school student performances, and 2 p.m. Nov. 2, public performance, Miller Symphony Hall, 23 N. Sixth St. Allentown; Tickets: children accompanied by an adult are free; adults, $5, Miller Symphony Hall box office, 610-432-6715, https://www.millersymphonyhall.org

“Classical View” is a column about classical music concerts, conductors and performers. To request coverage, email: Paul Willistein, Focus editor, pwillistein@tnonline.com