Following on from our webchat with Charles Hazlewood earlier this year, we?re teaming up with his 'Orchestra in a Field' event to offer Mumsnetters the chance to win tickets to a weekend-long camp-out at Worthy Farm.
Even assuming that you would want to take the whole family along to a classical music event, it simply isn?t affordable for most people. Orchestra in a Field, an outdoor music festival in Somerset that Charlie has put together, is determined to open up classical music to new audiences. Charlie has decided that making his festival affordable and family-friendly is the key.
The two-day festival (30 June ? 1 July), a sort of 'Glastonbury meets Glyndebourne' experience, offers free entry to under-13s, big concessions to students and teens, and free camping, which means families with children under 13 can make a weekend of it for as little as £110 (the cost of two adult weekend tickets). (As an added bonus, if enough MNers sign up you could treat it as a meet-up 
)
The ticket price includes world-class concert performances of Carmen, Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition and Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet, along with a host of other music-related entertainments, workshops and activities, including: a kids' area, helter skelter, flamenco dancing and drumming workshops, Puppet Opera, ukulele lessons, and a Rap Slam. Other highlights include a Community Choir Sing-Off, a debut performance by The British Paraorchestra, and Mike Oldfield's iconic Tubular Bells in a rare live supergroup performance featuring Goldfrapp and Portishead musicians.
Ten lucky MNers can win a pair of AAA tickets each to Orchestra in a Field. To be in with a chance, please post on this thread to let us know your opinions about early musical education for children. At what age do you think a child should learn a musical instrument? How important is it to expose children to Mozart? Has your child benefited from singing in a choir? What are your experiences of attending classical concerts with kids?
Thanks,
MNHQ