Orchestra Kentucky, in the middle of its regularly scheduled season, is taking time to have a little musical fun with children as it prepares to kick off its 2010 Children’s Cushion Concerts on Sunday.

The children’s series will start with “All Strings Attached,” an exploration of the string family, including the cello, bass, violin and viola. The concert, sponsored by Carol and Denny Wedge, is at 2 p.m. at the Old L&N Depot. Tickets are $10, plus a $3-per-ticket handling fee.

“The orchestra has been doing this for a number of years. We thought as an orchestra that it is part of our mission to educate, and we try to do that at several levels, the C3 series being one level,” said Duncan McKenzie, director of external affairs for the orchestra.

The name C3 comes from having children sit on cushions on the floor at the depot for the concerts, allowing them to get up close to see and hear what the orchestra is all about, McKenzie said. He said orchestra director and conductor Jeff Reed talks to the children in a simple way that engages them.

The concerts are designed for 2- to 9-year-olds and last about 45 minutes – shorter than Orchestra Kentucky’s VIP series.

“These are a lot of fun,” Reed said. “I like the little ones. It’s fun to watch them discover things about music for the first time.”

Reed said this year they are trying to be more methodical, so each concert in the series builds on the other. He said the beginning point for young children is to understand the orchestra so when they see the orchestra, it won’t be just a bunch of instruments.

“It’ll mean more to them … also some are of age to study an instrument, so I’m looking forward to maybe sparking that interest in an instrument,” Reed said.

Reed said he will talk about the string instruments and how they make their sounds.

“And I always talk about the bow that is used, and how the hair comes from horses,” he said. “So I always tell them there are bald horses in Warren County.”

He said he also talks about the different ways to play string instruments, such as pizzicato, which is to pluck the string, and he said they will play a piece that is all in that style.

Reed said they will play the “Pink Panther” theme song and the theme from “SpongeBob SquarePants.”

“They will listen to music they already know played by instruments … hopefully (they’ll) understand how the instruments work in relation to music they’re familiar with,” he said.

Royal Music musicians will be present after the concert, bringing with them an “instrument petting zoo” of junior size string instruments for the children to try out what they’ve seen and heard.

“So they’ll be starting out not knowing anything to being able to hold an instrument and try it out … strings are something they can start at an early age,” Reed said.

In addition to the petting zoo and the orchestra, children will have the opportunity to spend Sunday afternoons with Perry the Penguin, the mascot of the orchestra, McKenzie said. He said children will be able to do the Perry Penguin march after the concert to a piece composed by resident composer Dr. Charles W. Smith.

A child can become a Perry’s Pals Club member for $46, which includes a ticket for the child and the adult for the remaining three concerts and a Perry’s Pals packet containing lots of goodies.

The next concert will be Feb. 14 and is deemed “The Brass Menagerie,” which will be about horns, trumpets, trombones, french horns and the tuba. The following Sunday will focus on the woodwinds – flutes, clarinets, saxophones, oboes – and will be called “The Wind Machines.”

The final concert will be March 7. Called “Beat It,” the concert will focus on the percussion family.

“I think a lot of kids today listen to one kind of music and discount classical because they don’t understand it, and that goes for adults, too,” Reed said. “After this series they’ll see many instrumentalists started when they were young, and through the series they’ll understand if they work hard and persevere they’ll be able to play as well as the orchestra members do.

“It’s not unattainable. Everything we do educationally is about removing barriers so children and adults can learn to appreciate orchestral music and be lifelong patrons of the arts.”