This year's performance will feature The Carnival of the Animals by Camille Saint-Saëns as well as Francis Poulenc's The Story of Babar, the Little Elephant.

In The Carnival of the Animals explore the wonders of the animal kingdom as each creature tells its tale through music. Hear everything from the pounding march of the elephants to the soft and elegant dance of the swan. This piece is an excellent way to teach your children how to recognize and understand both animal and musical sounds. And experience the classic French story of a curious elephant who travels to a big city in The Story of Babar, the Little Elephant. Listen to an astonishing array of instruments as the CCM musicians recreate this whimsical tale.

The CCM Family Concert is designed to introduce families with children ages four and up to the joys of live performance. To prepare for the show or to just have some musical fun, visit the educational and exciting links below:

Chicago Chamber Musicians
Founded in 1986, The Chicago Chamber Musicians is Chicago’s leading chamber music institution, devoted to the study and performance of chamber music. Visit CCM’s website to learn more about The Carnival of the Animals and The Story of Babar, the Little Elephant and their additional programming.

SphinxKids
Learn more about other great composers, play with virtual instruments and compose your own orchestral movement!

San Francisco Orchestra for Kids
Visit this interactive site to explore and create music in the Music Lab.

Nashville Symphony Orchestra for Kids
Start by investigating the instruments of the orchestra, then visit a concert hall and meet some Nashville Symphony Orchestra musicians.

The Essentials of Music
The general music site includes a comprehensive glossary of musical terms, descriptions and definitions of musical eras and brief critical biographies of major composers.

Meet the Creators of Babar
Read more about the family that created the original children's story.

Composer Francis Poulenc
A comprehensive site on the life and work of Francis Poulenc.

Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (Composer, The Carnival of the Animals) (1835–1921) was a French composer (a person who writes music) born in Paris. At the age of just two-and-a-half years old he began to study piano and composed his first piano piece at the age of only 3! He began performing publically 7 years later with a big concert in Paris. Not only a talented musician, Saint-Saëns was also a very gifted student. He studied both mathematics and natural sciences, winning first prize at the Conservatorie (a fancy French word for a school). Years later when Saint-Saëns grew-up, he became known as not only a great pianist but also a legendary organist and composer. He said he lived "in music like a fish in water." Maybe that is where he got the idea for The Carnival of the Animals!

Francis Poulenc (Composer, The Story of Babar, the Little Elephant) (1899–1963) was a French composer who was born in Paris and lived and worked in the 1900s. Famous for his piano music, Poulenc did not have any formal music classes until he was almost 22 years old! He played his first music piece in 1917, which sounded very light and new. Around the same time he was part of a group called Les Six, a cool group of six French composers. Poulenc would go on to travel the world, visiting exciting places through-out Europe and the Unites States! After a long and healthy career, Poulenc died peacefully in his hometown of Paris.

The Chicago Chamber Musicians
Founded in 1986, The Chicago Chamber Musicians (CCM) is a society of musicians and music devotees committed to building an internationally recognized chamber music institution in Chicago. Since its inception, CCM has launched a critically and popularly acclaimed subscription series; an award-winning annual series of contemporary chamber music; a touring program; the annual Family Concerts; and a remarkable set of community service programs. A staunch advocate for new music, CCM has commissioned 17 works, and has received two ASCAP-Chamber Music America Awards for Adventurous Programming. CCM's recordings include previously unrecorded works from composers such as John Harbison, David Diamond and Bruce Adolphe as well as works from the chamber canon including the GRAMMY-finalist Chamber Works for Winds and Strings by Mozart. Among CCM's numerous awards are the 2006 ABBY Award for Arts Management Excellence and the 2007 Chamber Ensemble of the Year Award from the Illinois Council of Orchestras. Annually CCM shares the joy of chamber music with more than 5,000,000 radio listeners, audience members and students throughout Chicago and beyond. CCM is underwritten in part by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency; the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency; and the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs. CCM's 2010-2011 season is supported by Bentley Forbes and the MacArthur Fund for Arts and Culture at Prince.

Family Concert Slideshow
The Chicago Chamber Musicians have performed with Chicago Shakespeare Theater for the past nine years, doing interactive family programming similar to The Carnival of the Animals and The Story of Babar, the Little Elephant. Every year, families are invited to join the artists before and after the show for a chance to see and hear them play in a closer setting.