On Friday, Ezra and I went to a friend's B-day party, and Ezra got to hang out in the dirt with his BFF Ethan while mommy got to eat chocolate cake AND ice cream. Plus, when I was getting Ezra out of his carseat to go into the party, he kept pointing above my head and saying "moooon". Me being the sharp mommy that I am I said, "What? What are you saying? What are you pointing at?" Thinking that maybe he saw a cow decoration in the yard next door or something. (moooooo.) Then I looked up and saw the moon and squealed with glee because my son said ANOTHER WORD. I made him say it a hundred times to everyone at the party because I was so dang proud. Moooon!
The next night we had a date planned and our new neighbors watched Ezra while Chris and I went and got yummy food and then went to the Symphony. The Symphony! I had never been to the symphony! I was very excited as we aproached the Civic center and saw hundreds of people all dressed up, pouring in through the doors. It was mostly elderly people, and I couldn't help but think that my generation was missing out on something pretty amazing and that also maybe we wouldn't know good music if it jumped out of the bushes and smacked us in the head with a cello.
It's quite a fancy affair, the symphony. People take pride in it. We went to pick up our tickets at the Will Call booth, and there was a big poster displaying who would be the guest performer of the evening. I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw her face on that poster. It was none other than Lilith. You know, Lilith? From 'Cheers'? And that one show that
Chris played in symphonies for years (did you all know he's an outstanding violist?) and he tried to explain all the nuances and happenings of the stage and the musicians and it was all so facinating to me. Basically, what I gathered, is that whichever chair you sit in tells the world how good you are at your instrument. First chair = your instruments sounds like angelic choruses when you play it. Last chairs = your instrument sounds like animal mating calls when you play it. Haha I joke. It was beautiful. It's like a whole different world that I've never experienced, and I saw my husband's eyes light up as he excitedly revealed a whole new room of his heart that I'd never been in before.
So... go experience your local philharmonic! Take binocluars! Bring yummy candy that doesn't have crinkly wrappers! Show up 30 minutes early! (Showing up later is, I've been informed, rude.) Bring a sketchbook with you if you like to draw! Be bold and go by yourself! Buy a strong drink at intermission! Watch each individual musician and marvel at the beauty of so many fragments coming together to make a whole!
I hope to go back again someday soon. And I secretly hope to see my husband sitting on a stage again one day- with a viola tucked neatly underneath a satisfied grin.
8 comments:
That last photo - is that Chris? It's beautiful!!
I love you guys. And I agree! We love the symphony. My husband is a classical musician, too, and we regularly go see the LA Phil and other various classical concerts. Wished we lived closer and could have a phil-foursome.
sigh...
I love her to! Wow how cool to see her. You know who I would love to see that I am secretly embaressed to admitt but im going to is Fran Dresher. You know from The Nanny. LOVE IT!!
Beautiful! I never played in a symphony, but I was in wind ensemble for years, playing all varieties of wind instruments (clarinet, flute, oboe, tenor sax).
Every time I hear a wind ensemble playing it makes me miss my uber-musical days.
I'm glad you got to have a lovely symphonic experience :)
I failed to mention that I have been to the symphony once, my sophomore year at USF. The San Francisco Symphony...ahhh. So beautiful! I remember being so excited...I got all dressed up, and went to a fancy dinner beforehand and all that. Unfortunately, the guy I was with was a real jerk. He was a classically trained guitarist, and while there was no denying his fabulously amazing talent (I mean hello? Beethoven on the guitar? HOT!), he seemed to get satisfaction from all the things that I didn't know about the symphony. Boys. I would love to go back with my hubby now. I wonder if he'd go for it.
Hmmmm....
How was the audience? Were there many young people? I'm stoked that you had a great time - live classical music is amazing. You guys should try to opera (in Orange County) sometime...nudge, nudge, wink, wink.
megan: yes, that is my hot hubby and YES you should take yours too! It's quite romantic in it's own way...
r-face-becca: We were pretty much the only peeps under 60. Isn't that SAD? I would LOVE to see an opera one day. I'll put that on my list of things to do for the next trip I take to Orange County. I take trips there frequently so that I might stalk you. I've made about 56 trips so far.
for my 24th birthday, my husband gave me concert tickets for the philharmonic. i sat there completely puzzled and asked, "who are the philharmonics??!" as if they were some new indy band i'd never heard of. how sad is that? when we went, i could not have been more underdressed as women blanketed in full-length fur coats and dresses that were meant for the oscars passed by me... ha! thanks for the tips in case we go again. definitely good to know we need to be 30 minutes early... since we're usually 30 minutes late wherever we go!
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