Press Releases
August 17, 2022
Free hour-long pop-up event on Saturday, September 24, at 2 p.m. ideal for families with children
New York (August 17, 2022): Author Dan Brown and the Pioneer Valley Symphony Orchestra, under conductor Tianhui Ng, will perform Brown’s Wild Symphony live on Saturday, September 24, at 2 p.m. in Lenox, Massachusetts, as part of the Authors Guild’s free, four-day WIT: Words, Ideas, and Thinkers Festival.
Wild Symphony, which is designed to delight and introduce children to the joys of classical music, showcases Brown’s talents not only as a best-selling novelist, but as a lifelong musician and composer who was inspired at a young age by Peter and the Wolf, The Carnival of the Animals, and The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra. Brown will read from the accompanying illustrated children’s book Wild Symphony and the orchestra will play the score, which Brown composed, that goes along with each page.
Featuring nearly two dozen musical portraits drawn from the animal kingdom, Wild Symphony springs to life onstage and is poised to become an instant children’s classic. From the joyous rhythms of “Bouncing Kangaroo” to the mysterious melodies of “Wondrous Whale” to the hair-raising harmonies of “Brilliant Bat,” this is a wild symphony indeed.
While the performance is free, seating is limited and pre-registration is required.
Dan Brown is the author of numerous #1 bestselling novels, including The Da Vinci Code, which has become one of the best-selling novels of all time as well as the subject of intellectual debate among readers and scholars. Brown’s novels are published in 56 languages around the world with more than 200 million copies in print. In 2005, Brown was named one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People in the World, and the magazine’s editors credited him with “keeping the publishing industry afloat.” The son of a mathematics teacher and a church organist, Brown was raised on a prep school campus where he developed a fascination with the paradoxical interplay between science and religion. These themes eventually formed the backdrop for his books. A graduate of Amherst College, Brown taught English at his high school alma mater Phillips Exeter Academy before turning to writing full time. With the creation of Wild Symphony, he is also branching out as a composer and children’s book author.
Based in Greenfield, Massachusetts, the Pioneer Valley Symphony Orchestra consists of 70–90 incredibly talented volunteers and professionals from across Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, and New Hampshire. Directed by Maestro Tianhui Ng, the musicians perform a repertoire ranging from beloved classics and pops to regional and world premieres. The Pioneer Valley Symphony Orchestra creates wonderful opportunities for passionate instrumentalists to perform great works and offers a youth orchestra for talented young musicians.
The WIT: Words, Ideas, and Thinkers Festival runs September 22–25 and brings together award-winning novelists, historians, playwrights, activists, scientists, and academics for a series of thought-provoking conversations that celebrate a rich literary and intellectual culture while amplifying new voices and perspectives.
Thanks to the generous support of sponsors and donors to the Authors Guild Foundation, the educational and charitable arm of the Authors Guild, all discussions, book signings, and author Q&As are free and open to the general public. Most presentations will be held on the campus of Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, Massachusetts, though some pop-up and special ticketed events will take place at various locations throughout the Berkshires. For more info, visit authorsguild.org/wit-festival.
With more than 12,000 members, the Authors Guild is the nation’s oldest and largest professional organization for published writers. It advocates on behalf of working writers to protect free speech, freedom of expression and authors’ copyrights; fights for fair contracts and authors’ ability to earn a livable wage; and provides a welcoming community for writers and translators of fiction, nonfiction, poetry and journalism. Free programming to teach working writers about the business of writing and public events that highlight the importance of a rich, diverse American literary culture and the authors that contribute to it is made possible through the Authors Guild Foundation, the Guild’s educational and charitable arm.
