A kid’s book about ocean pollution is getting some musical help from the Red Deer Symphony Orchestra, in return for a badly needed revenue boost.
The RDSO was hired for a recording project for the children’s book The Adventures of Akai and Mamoo, by Renay Eng-Fisher, Irene Herremans and Holly Speer.
Songs on the CD, Everybody’s World, were created to complement the book’s message of preventing water contamination.
The book project is an example of some of the revenue-generating collaborations the RDSO is starting to embark upon.
These projects are becoming a necessity, said RDSO executive-director Melody McKnight, who recently announced a $50,000 budgetary shortfall for the RDSO.
It resulted from a sharper than anticipated decline in provincial government grants.
The orchestral music on the children’s book CD was also arranged by RDSO music director Claude Lapalme, who worked from compositions by Cindy Church, Gwen Swick, Richard Harrow, John Reischman, The Jaybirds and others.
As part of the book tour, 16 RDSO musicians will perform songs from the CD at CrossRoads Church in Red Deer County at 7:30 on Saturday, Nov. 3. (For ticket more information, call 403-242-3386.)
McKnight said the RDSO will be looking at other commercial ways of increasing revenue, as well as reducing costs by trading services with other Alberta arts groups.
For instance, the Edmonton Opera recently approached the RDSO to have the Red Deer orchestra play for some Edmonton operas, as well as tours to Fort McMurray.
In exchange, members of the Edmonton Opera will perform at an RDSO concert in Red Deer.
A similar joint concert with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra has already been announced for June 2013.
McKnight said the RDSO is open to all kinds of inventive ways of balancing the budget.
lmichelin@www.reddeeradvocate.com