Our orchestra performed the first of 3 holiday concerts today, for the city of Redmond Festival of Lights. I was surprised at the number of people who turned out to listen as the weather was terrible - windy and rainy, after snowing yesterday and today. Seattle doesn't get much snow and so the area tends to shut down when it snows. Combine that with not much snow-clearing equipment, lots of hills, and temperatures that swing above and below freezing to produce a lot of ice, and you get...either gridlock or people who are smart enough to stay off the roads. I grew up in California and am not at all used to driving in snow, so I try to stay off the roads when it snows. I'm not afraid to say that I'm wimpy when it comes to driving in snow.
But back to the concert...it went really well. It was a short one; we only had an hour to play and we played together really well. The Nutcracker Suite was lovely, the holiday music was fun to play (with the exception of Sleigh Ride, which we all detest playing but is such a crowd pleaser!), and the audience clearly enjoyed it. Our orchestra has really improved over the past few years. We played the Nutcracker Suite a few years ago but nowhere near as well as we are playing now.
Tomorrow night is concert #2, when we add in the Karelia and Capriol Suites which we skipped today.
1 comment:
I'd love to have the opportunity to play "Sleigh Ride" - it's one of my favorites!
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