My parents did an excellent job introducing my siblings and me to the riches of Western culture. in child-friendly ways. Some of my favorite memories involve attending Shakespeare plays and classical music concerts. Each summer, our town hosted both a Shakespeare festival and a classical music festival. Although understanding Shakespeare wasn’t easy for me at the time, I gradually developed an ear for the language, and I read simpler retellings of the stories ahead of time so that I could more easily track the plot in the theater. Superb actors communicated so much of the meaning through their delivery that I understood much more than I would have by just reading the play.
Each year during the music festival, one concert was held outdoors in a park, and it featured more popular classical pieces like the “1812 Overture.” The park environment suited families well, and people from across town brought picnics and let their kids dance or run while the orchestra performed in the band shell.
