As Wooster Symphony Orchestra conductor Jeffrey Lindberg took the podium and the lights went down in McGaw Chapel on The College of Wooster campus, a hush fell over the audience.

But unlike most of the Wooster Symphony Orchestra’s concerts, no one in this audience of more than 1,200 members was over 10 years old, when fourth-grade students from across Wayne and Holmes counties gathered for the annual Children’s Symphony Concert March 3.

Undertaken through a partnership between the orchestra, it’s Women’s Committee, and the Tri-County Educational Service Center, the children’s symphony is designed to provide young children with a live listening experience and give students a broader basis from which to develop an appreciation for instrumental music.

The concert, which is designed to help area music educators meet the state’s fourth-grade fine arts curriculum requirements, has been a staple in the community for decades. But according to Gary DeVault, Tri-County Educational Service Center fine arts consultant, it wasn’t until 1978 that the concert became an annual event under the leadership of Dr. Roberta Mohan, the director of arts education for the Wayne County school, which is now known as the Tri-County Educational Service Center.

DeVault noted that all public and private elementary schools in Wayne, Holmes and Ashland counties were invited to attend the concert. This year, more than 1,200 students from 25 school districts accepted the invitation.

For the students and their teachers, preparations begin well before the students take their seats in McGaw Chapel for the actual concert.

“Each year I write a study guide for the music teachers and classroom teachers to utilize with their students in preparation for the fourth-grade children’s concert. The teacher’s guide focuses on the music, composers, historical periods, instruments of the orchestra and connections to other subject areas, including social studies and language arts,” said DeVault, who also prepares a student booklet focusing on the composers, musicians and conductor, and the role the students play as members of the audience.

While the elementary school students prepare, Lindberg and the orchestra members make extensive preparations of their own.

According to DeVault, “Mr. Lindberg tries to select a variety of musical styles and musical periods to present during the concert.”

For the 2011 concert, the musical offerings selected by Lindberg ranged from a Haydn trumpet concerto featuring soloist and College of Wooster trumpet instructor Jack Brndiar to a medley of pieces composed by John Williams for the Harry Potter movies.

The students also had the opportunity to learn more about the instruments that make up the orchestra.

One by one musicians from the string, woodwind, brass and percussion sections played brief excerpts to introduce the students to each individual instrument in the orchestra.

For most students the highlight of the introduction of the instruments occurred when the enormous curtain at the back of the stage opened dramatically to reveal McGaw Chapel’s spectacular pipe organ.

Founded in 1915 by Daniel Parmelee, Wooster College professor of violin, the Wooster Symphony Orchestra is the second oldest symphony orchestra in Ohio. Performing under the direction of College of Wooster professor of music Jeffrey Lindberg, the orchestra, which is comprised of 60-70 members of the community and College of Wooster students, presents a full schedule of concerts each year in conjunction with The College of Wooster Jazz Ensemble.

For more information on the Wooster Symphony Orchestra, log on http://www.wooster.edu.

Information on the services offered by the Tri-County Educational Service Center can be found at http://www.tricountyesc.org.