This Sunday, the Marine Chamber Orchestra will take the stage to perform this year’s Young People’s Concert titled “Magic Pearl.” The performance will take place at 2 p.m., on March 30 at Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center in Alexandria, Va. The concert is free and open to the public.

The 2025 Young People’s Concert will feature Christopher Vu’s Magic Pearl, a dynamic shadow puppet play with live music. The Chinese folktale, “The Bright Pearl,” is brought to life with shadow puppetry, using a variety of techniques including overhead projectors, flat press puppets and handheld lights and screens. The show is equal parts live concert and mixed media theatrical performance, perfect for all families.

The concert is coordinated by Associate Director of the Marine Band, Capt. Darren Lin. Lin said: “When I was given the opportunity to program this year’s Young People’s Concert, my mind immediately went to a project I worked on in my life before the Marine Band, a shadow puppet play called Magic Pearl, created by some dear friends of mine at the New England Conservatory in Boston. I am so lucky that my friends are still open to collaborating with me after all of this time, and our efforts will come to fruition!”

He added, “I have very strong, fond memories of Magic Pearl, so as I study the score, to see how Chris evolved the material while keeping the magic and spirit alive has been a bit like re-uniting with an old friend after a long period of time. I have loved every rendition of Magic Pearl, and I think this one continues to evolve the project in a special way. I believe this performance will have something for everyone – the artistry and choreography of the shadow puppeteers is so much fun to see, the score is gorgeous and emotional, and the story is charming and uplifting.”

“My favorite part of presenting Magic Pearl is hearing from children about what they felt the story was about,” said Veronica Barron, director and designer for Magic Pearl and Executive Artistic Director of Puppet Showplace Theater in the Boston area, which supported the show's premiere in 2023. “This lovely fable is about working hard to make something beautiful, and then deciding what to do when the beautiful thing is lost or broken. Children and adults can relate on surprisingly equal footing to these themes of love, loss, and repair, and I love hearing children's wise and big-hearted responses to the adventures of Dragon and Phoenix.”

Barron also said she looks forward to sharing puppetry techniques with the audience: “Puppetry is so engaging in part because it's handmade, and so it's really fun to lift the proverbial curtain and let the audience see how we make the shadow images come to life!"

Following the program, children are invited to try the Marine Band’s instruments and shadow puppets from the performance in our “musical petting zoo” and try-a-puppet station!

Magic Pearl's original score was composed by Christopher Vu, with puppetry direction by Veronica Barron. Magic Pearl is performed by puppeteers Amy West, Ashley Winkfield and Veronica Barron, with script, story, and puppetry design by Veronica Barron, Max Gayford and Bo (Lee) Jones.

Magic Pearl premiered in 2023 at Puppet Showplace Theater in Brookline, Massachusetts, through the New Works Incubator. Magic Pearl is also supported by the Jim Henson Foundation, LiveArts Boston, New England Conservatory, and Floating Tower. The workshop version of the show premiered at Lincoln Center with support from Lincoln Center Education.