Appreciating Music

Families with kids who are out of school can pick up a new summer habit Monday by visiting the Madrid Theatre in Canoga Park for a free music appreciation concert. The first in the weekly series will feature a blues performance by the Hammersmith Band.

Harmonica virtuoso and teacher Chris Smith, who has been performing at clubs and colleges since 1982, leads the group, which includes bassist Bob Tskamoto, drummer Jim Goodall and guitarist Dave Melton.

Smith, a harmonica teacher for 25 years, is an evangelist for the instrument. In between renditions of “Walkin’ the Blues” and “Got My Mojo Workin’,” he will tell youngsters about the history of the harmonica as a blues instrument.

“The [German] designer totally didn’t expect it to be played in this way,” Smith said during a music class he conducts at Vaughn Next Century Learning Center in Pacoima. “It was a cheap, portable instrument meant to be played in the key of C but people played it in G, creating a tonic chord--that ‘crying the blues’ sound.”

The events are sponsored by the Valley Cultural Center, which also brings the Sunday Concerts in the Park series to Warner Center each summer.

The series continues through Aug. 7. Scheduled performers include Preservation Hall Jazz Band; String Family Players, providing an introduction to classical music; Ritomello, introducing Baroque music; the Gonzalez Family Mariachi Ensemble; and the Sir Charles Blues Lab All Stars, a youth band.

A brief history lesson and a question and answer session will follow each concert. Seats are on a first-come, first-served basis, but groups of six or more may make reservations.

BE THERE

Monday Morning Kids Concerts, featuring the Hammersmith Band, Monday from 9:45-11 a.m. at the Madrid Theatre, 21622 Sherman Way, Canoga Park. Free. Series continues Mondays through Aug. 7. Call (818) 347-9938 or (818) 704-1587.