Friday, November 11, 2011

Utah Symphony

As you know, Kenna is learning to play the bass in the school orchestra. Because of this, I thought it would be fun to take her to see the Utah Symphony. Each year around Halloween they have what they call their Spooky Symphonies. Members of the symphony dress up in costume and have a performance. Members of the audience are also encouraged to wear costumes. Kenna and I thought this would be a fun event to participate in, although we didn't dress up.

The concert was at Abravanel Hall, which is a fancy building with an even fancier sculpture in the lobby. We arrived early so that we could see all the costumes ahead of time. Some of them were impressive. There was a competition with prizes and everything, so people dedicated a lot of thought and effort on their costumes. Some of the winners included a family dressed as all the characters from the movie Despicable Me and a boy dressed as an All Terrain Scout Transport from the Star Wars movies.

The performance featured selections from well-known symphonies and film scores such as “Star Wars” and “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” by John Williams, “The Rite of Spring” by Igor Stravinsky and “Night on Bald Mountain” by Modest Mussorgsky.

We weren't allowed to take pictures of the performance itself, but we did take a picture of one of the bass players getting ready. Notice that the audience members are in full costume and so is the musician.

The performance was a lot of fun. The music was great and the musicians are incredibly talented. They make it look so easy that you forget how many years or even decades it takes to learn to play an instrument.

I know Kenna liked the show, but I'm not sure if she liked it as much as I did. I definitely want to go to some of their other performances. I don't see myself taking up an interest in classical music anytime soon, but it is fun to occasionally listen to something other than Z-Rock.

3 comments:

Rita said...

I'm glad you guys had so much fun although anything with Kenna is fun!!

Andrea said...

I haven't been to the Utah Symphony since I was Kenna's age. I'd like to go again. Maybe when Skylar is Kenna's age.

Beverly said...

I'm glad to see you are finally getting some culture in your life. Thanks Kenna for having such a good influence on your dad!