Area parents are encouraged to bring their young children to Symphony Storytime with an Oboe, which will be presented at the Bozeman Public Library during their regular Toddler and Preschool Storytime on Wednesday, Jan. 10, at 10:15 a.m. by the Bozeman Symphony and Montana Shakespeare in the Parks. 

The free program, especially for children ages 3 to 5, will be in the Library’s Community Room at 626 E. Main Street in Bozeman. Belgrade Head Start students will hear the same program earlier that day. Children will be able to listen to a storybook read by Montana Shakespeare in the Parks actor Emily Hawkins, who will be accompanied by Bozeman Symphony’s principal Oboist Sandy Stimson.  

Hawkins is an experienced reader, having performed with the Chicago Children’s Theatre, The House Theatre of Chicago, Black Ensemble Theater, Oil Lamp Theater, and others. She has a BFA in Acting from Oklahoma City University. Principal oboe of the Bozeman Symphony and a member of the Bridger Winds woodwind quintet, Stimson is the guest artist for the Bozeman Symphony’s April classical concert Elgar’s Enigma Variations. She also performs the English horn with the Billings Symphony and in the Montana Ballet Company orchestra, and the Intermountain Opera Company. She earned her Bachelor of Music degree from Ithaca College and her Master of Music from Yale University. 

“The goal of this new program is to encourage a love of music, story, literacy, and learning/discovery,” said the Bozeman Symphony’s new Education and Community Engagement Coordinator Cierra Wallace. “Collaborating with various community partners, we want to expose children to a diverse selection of stories, cultures, authors, narrative styles, readers, instruments, music, and musicians.” 

Wallace added that similar programs are scheduled at the Library and Head Start on February 21, March 20, April 10, and June 12. For more information, visit www.bozemansymphony.org or call 406-585-9774.