Haley Joel Osment Narrates Peter and the Wolf

And Academy Award-winning Composer Tan Dun Leads

The Los Angeles Philharmonic In New Interactive Piece

Los Angeles, CA-The Los Angeles Philharmonic held its first Phil the House preview of the new Walt Disney Concert Hall, welcoming more than 3,000 school children from over 65 schools throughout Los Angeles County, on Thursday, October 16. Fifth-graders representing schools from all over Los Angeles were among the first to hear the new hall in an hour-long program featuring actor Haley Joel Osment narrating the orchestra's performance of Peter and the Wolf, and Academy Award winning composer Tan Dun conducting his newly-commissioned work Inventions for Paper Instruments and Orchestra, highlighted by performing on instruments made of paper.

"This program underscores the Los Angeles Philharmonic's commitment to a new generation of concertgoers," says Deborah Borda, President and CEO. "Walt Disney Concert Hall is opening its doors first with Phil the House, a series of invitational previews for members of the community, as the beginning of the opening celebration." The program was the first time a full audience will hear the Los Angeles Philharmonic play in the new hall. Walt Disney Concert Hall officially opens with the first of three inaugural galas on Thursday evening, October 23.

Buses of school children will arrive at Walt Disney Concert Hall for this special preview from as far away as Fillmore, Pacoima, Montebello and Van Nuys, as well as from nearby areas of West Hollywood and Los Angeles.

The program began with the performance of Chinese composer Tan Dun's Inventions for Paper Instruments and Orchestra, an interactive orchestral work that pays homage to the composer's ancestors who invented the world's first fine paper, and celebrates the harmony of man and nature. The Chinese composer, who won an Oscar for his score for the movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, blends Eastern and Western musical systems creating a form of "organic music."

The second part of the program features the Los Angeles Philharmonic, conducted by Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen, with narrator Haley Joel Osment, performing Prokofiev's popular orchestral work Peter and the Wolf.

Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Music Center of Los Angeles County's newest venue, is the new home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

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