“Once Upon An Orchestra: Musical Fairy Tales” is this year’s annual Allentown Symphony Orchestra “Family Concert,” 2 p.m. Feb 20, Miller Symphony Hall, Allentown.

The concert brings together fairy tales and stories told through orchestra performance.

The Allentown Symphony Orchestra has prepared a program of orchestral classics, with the goal of introducing children to classical music. Those age 21 and younger are free thanks to a grant from The Century Fund.

Pre-concert activities, beginning at 12:30 p.m. Feb. 20, include hands-on educational demonstrations by orchestra performers, allowing children to touch and attempt to play instruments they will see in the concert. After the concert, children will be invited on stage.

“This is not a long concert, probably around 50 minutes, so it won’t take up the whole afternoon,” says Diane Wittry, Allentown Symphony Orchestra Music Director and Conductor. “It’s a family concert designed for children to come hear the orchestra, touch the instruments and enjoy.

“This concert is a journey through some amazingly beautiful music that’s all tied to stories,” Wittry says.

The concert program is: “Aladdin Suite - Oriental Festival March,” Carl Nielsen; “Festival in Baghdad,” “The Sea,” “The Shipwreck” from “Scheherazade - 1,001 Nights,” Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, with Eliezer Gutman, violin solo; “Introduction” and “The Lilac Fairy” from “Sleeping Beauty,” Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, with dancer Elizabeth Marlin of Repertory Dance Theatre; “Conversations of Beauty and the Beast” from “Mother Goose,” Maurice Ravel, with John Schwartz, clarinet solo, and Steve Reisteter, contrabassoon solo; “Carnival of the Animals” selections, Camille Saint-Saëns; “Introduction” and “The Lions Royal March,” “The Kangaroos,” “The Swan,” “Finale,” “Casey at Bat,” Steve Reinecke, and “The Witches Ride” from “Hansel and Gretel,” Engelbert Humperdinck.

Milo Morris, bass section leader, Allentown Symphony Chorus, plays the role of Aladdin and narrates the concert.

“I do things more from the point of view of a storyteller. There is a lot of me introducing pieces of music,” says Morris, a Bucks County resident whose roles have included “Pirates of Penzance” at the International Gilbert & Sullivan Festival, Buxton, England; New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players; Opera Memphis, OperaDelaware and Delaware Valley Opera Co.

Says Wittry, “The concert is for the kids and is not only educational, but also musically-stimulating. I picked music from major composers that students should know, but also picked a few unusual pieces as an unknown name for the students to get to know.

“Each of the pieces tells a story in a different way. During the show, Aladdin, narrated by Milo Morris, is going to rub his magical lamp and during that time we will go into the next piece. There will be visuals behind the orchestra as well as dancers. “It is a multi-media event.

“The fairy-tale idea was Stephanie Kocher’s idea. She is the educational director of the Allentown Symphony Association. She and I felt that the pieces would be story-based, but would provide the flow of a concert. I didn’t want things too long, but wanted to make sure, on both ends, it was upbeat.

“I like to include audience participation and tie in to community organizations,” Wittry says.

With that that in mind, there will be appearances by Fefe and Ferrous, mascots of the Iron Pigs, the Philadelphia Phillies Major League AAA affiliate farm team based at Coca-Cola Park, Allentown.

Tickets: Miller Symphony Hall Box Office, 23 N. Sixth St., Allentown; allentownsymphony.org; 610-432-6715