One of the things that I’m missing as a new mum is the chance to see live music. Baby Fred is pretty flexible, but I suspect that he’d object if I strapped him to me and headed out to a late night gig, spoilsport that he is!
I was therefore thrilled to hear about Bach to Baby. Whilst classical music isn’t necessarily my first choice of music genre, tending to favour music with a few more electronic beats, an opportunity to hear talented musicians play live is a winner for me.
Bach to Baby has been set up by the brilliant pianist Miaomiao Yu, who wanted to perform for her son in a concert setting, but found that it was pretty unrealistic, particularly due to the late nights. Bach to Baby was conceived from the idea that there must be an opportunity to play to him and his friends at a kid friendly time.
Rather than just performing in small scale community halls across London, the venues have been carefully chosen for their atmosphere. Many of the events take place in churches which tend to add to the sense of occasion, as well as offering impressive acoustics.
Back in February I went along to the Clapham concert in St Luke’s Church. Initially it felt quite surreal. My experience of babies and churches is that there’s usually a desperate desire to keep the little ones quiet, so as not to detract from the service for everyone else. So to see the church full of happy, noisy babies and pre-schoolers was very refreshing. Once the music started most of the babies were both mesmorised and enthralled by the music. My own wee man Fred felt inspired to babble along noisily to the music. I suspect that he may have inherited his mum’s tone deafness, but no one flinched and his babbling seemed to be totally appropriate and in-keeping with the spirit of the event. The older kids in attendance also got up and had a bit of a dance.
From my perspective, I actually found the whole experience to be quite meditative….thoroughly switching off and tuning into the sounds being played. It’s certainly not my usual reaction when participating in baby classes/activities, so the opportunity to sit back and relax a bit was really appreciated.
Tickets are £10 per adult and kids go free. Whilst not the cheapest of baby activities around for us Baby Jumblers, it’s certainly compares favourably to a gig or concert. Plus if you sign up for more concerts there are discounts available.
Overall I’d say that Bach to Baby is a winner for both parents and babies. Do have a nosy on their website to see if there is a concert taking place near you. It’s well worth attending.
PS. A lovely new venue has just been confirmed. Concerts will now also be taking place at the beautiful Lauderdale House Continue reading
Baby Jumble 