Snoopy, the whimsical beagle of Charles M. Schulz’s beloved comic strip “Peanuts,” has adopted many guises over the decades: the World War I Flying Ace, the collegiate Joe Cool, a Beagle Scouts troop leader, an astronaut, a hockey player, a novelist — even a vulture.
He has also played at being a crime solver, which makes him a fitting choice for the central role in “Detective Snoopy,” a family concert led by Francesco Lecce-Chong, music director of the Santa Rosa Symphony, on Jan. 25 at the Green Music Center.
The program is part of the orchestra’s long-running family concert series, launched in 2012 and rebranded this season as the “Snoopy Family Concert Series,” a nod to Schulz’s enthusiasm for classical music.
“I just wanted the audience to get to know the symphony and me, and this is a way to do that,” Lecce-Chong said. “It’s a more informal experience, with shorter pieces.”
Snoopy is part of the show, and the newest program inserts him into the centerpiece of the concert, composer Nathaniel Stookey’s “The Composer is Dead,” narrated by Santa Rosa actor Jeff Coté, as The Inspector.
Snoopy figures prominently in the program’s centerpiece, Nathaniel Stookey’s comedic whodunit “The Composer Is Dead,” narrated by Santa Rosa actor Jeff Coté, who assumes the role of the Inspector. In this version, Snoopy tags along as the Inspector investigates the mysterious death of a composer found lifeless at his writing desk.
Lecce-Chong and Coté previously presented the piece in 2019, before Snoopy joined the cast.
As the story unfolds, the Inspector interrogates musicians from each section of the orchestra — strings, woodwinds, brass and percussion — who offer alibis in the form of musical excerpts. Members of the audience are also questioned.
The playful investigation doubles as a lively introduction to the instruments of a full symphony orchestra.
“It’s pretty whacky,” Lecce-Chong said. “It works on every level. It’s great for first-timers — there’s really no age limit.”
The concert also includes the finale of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony and the mambo from Leonard Bernstein’s “West Side Story.” Violinist Benji Margulis of the Santa Rosa Symphony Youth Orchestra will perform Antonio Vivaldi’s “Summer” from The Four Seasons, and members of the youth orchestra will join the symphony for Mikhail Glinka’s “Overture to Ruslan and Lyudmila.”
As is customary, the event will feature an “Instrument Petting Zoo” beginning an hour before the concert, allowing audience members to see and try instruments. Afterward, families can meet the performers and characters.
The Snoopy Family Concert Series will conclude April 12 with “Celebrate America!” The series is underwritten by Irene Sohm and Vic and Karen Trione.
