CLASSICAL EDUCATION : CONEJO VALLEY STUDENTS ATTEND MUSIC PROGRAM.

Byline: Gloria Gonzales Daily News Staff Writer

Mozart the man may not quiet the teeming crowd, but his music can still soothe the squirming child.

The great 18th century composer - in the form of Canadian actor Paul Latrielle - visited with about 1,800 third- and fourth-graders Wednesday at the Charles E. Probst Center for the Performing Arts during a special program designed to supplement Conejo Valley students' music education.

Boys and girls from throughout the district giggled and chatted during Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's biographical monologue, but fell silent when the New West Symphony and the Newbury Park High School Choir burst into the composer's anthem, Regina Coeli, a chorale work rife with ``Hallelujahs.''

``First of all, we want them to have a good time and enjoy listening to classical music in a concert hall setting,'' said maestro Boris Brott, who along with Charles McDermott, the symphony's artistic consultant, created the program. ``Second, we want to reinforce what they've learned in school about music and history . . . and have them listen to this music, especially in an age where they don't hear it much on the radio.''

The program included descriptions of orchestra sections, Mozart's life story, a brief history of 18th century Vienna and three solo performances by 8- and 9-year-old musicians.

``The great Gothic spires of the Viennese skyline towered over streets but hid appalling sanitary conditions,'' Brott told his young audience. ``People rarely washed and chamber pots were simply dumped into the streets. Music and art brought beauty to the city.''

Brott and Latrielle also reminisced about the composer's youthful days as a ``back street musician of the 18th century,'' known for his practical jokes and musical wagers.

``At one time you bet that you could play a piece of music while blindfolded and held upside down,'' Brott said. It was a bet the composer won.

Wednesday's program was interspersed with solo performances by three Conejo Valley youths: Edward Lau, 8, Jean Yeh, 9, and Kevin Chu, also 9.

``I could play that on a player piano,'' said German Aguilar to his friend Jack Miller, both 9, as they watched Lau play a concerto written by Mozart's rival, Antonio Salieri. ``You know, the kind of piano where you put the paper in and the keys go up and down?''

Both boys were duly impressed with the soloists.

``But I like the part when the kids got up and played the horns and stuff the best,'' Miller said while Aguilar nodded in agreement.

Six volunteers joined Brott and the orchestra on stage for a rendition of Leopold Mozart's Toy Symphony. Leopold, Wolfgang's father, wrote the symphony for his children. The last movement features toy horns, a kazoo-like instrument and noisemakers. The six volunteers played these ``toy'' instruments three times, with Brott increasing the tempo in each version.

Brott has written 14 similar programs and performed them in cities throughout the U.S. and Canada. Wednesday's performance was the first for Conejo Valley schoolchildren. Each installment focuses on the life, music and times of a different composer.

``We try to make it as fast-paced and participatory as possible,'' Brott said before the show began. ``And if it awakens an interest in classical music and helps create symphony audiences - all the better.''

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2 Photos

Photo: (1--Color) Conductor Boris Brott leads the New West Symphony at the Charles E. Probst Center for the Performing Arts in Thousand Oaks.

(2-Color) Allison McCarthy, right, gives her friends on the New West Symphony a thumbs up after their performance. About 1,800 students attended.

Bob Halvorsen/Daily News