Manassas Orchestra, Robots, Going ‘Bach to the Future’

By STEPHANIE TIPPLE

MANASSAS, Va. — The Prince William County and Manassas public schools Robotics programs, and the Manassas City Orchestra will be blending two seemingly different worlds – classical music and robotics – on Saturday in their first program, “Bach to the Future.”

The robotics group, which is comprised of students from elementary to high school in, Micron and the Northern Virginia Community College Education Foundation will use the opportunity to showcase their newest robotic creations that they’ve constructed.

The displays will be shown during the pre-show and intermission of the program, hosted at the Hylton Performing Arts Center in Manassas.

Paired with the orchestra’s renditions of classics by Tchaikovsky, Bach and Copland, the robotic displays will work with the orchestra pieces, making it a fun and exciting blend of classical music and high tech gadgetry.

STEM and robotics programs in Northern Virginia have grown in popularity in recent years, and the programs aim to give students the hands on experience in robotics technology. These programs have the ability to fuel student’s desire to move into math, science and technology related fields, which are high in demand in the region and throughout the United States.

“The development and operation of robots in the last few years has trickled down from scientists and engineers to students in grade school, middle school, high school and on in to college. These future robot developers build their robots and engage them in competition throughout the school year, gathering an ardent following that rivals the passion of many athletic events,” a press release from SySTEMic Solutions, the event sponsor from Northern Virginia Communtiy College’s robotics program.

Tickets for adults are $18, for senior citizens $12, for educators $12 and for all students, college students and children, admission is free.

For more information about the robotics program, visit nvcc.edu/systemic/.