Cache Symphony Orchestra Fall Concert 2022
Last night I had the opportunity to attend the Fall 2022 concert of the Cache Symphony Orchestra. It's a community orchestra made up of mostly volunteers, including my wife who plays the violin.
The program was an ambitious one. It made them stretch. And it paid off. The performance was excellent.
Here's the program (with examples).
Guest conductor Dr. Julie Sorenesen led the first three pieces:
- La Péri Fanfare by Paul Dukas
- L'italiana in Algieri Overture by Gioachino Rossini
- The Moldau by Bedřich Smetana
And after a brief intermission, led by conductor Dr. Mark Emile, they played Ludwig Van Beethoven's masterpiece:
- Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92
- I. Poco sostenuto – Vivace
- II. Allegreto
- III. Presto – Assai meno presto
- IV. Allegro con brio
The entire program was great, but my favorite pieces were The Moldau (the audience favorite) and the second movement of the Beethoven.
One could tell the most polished performance of the evening was The Moldau. It's a brilliant, but difficult piece and they really pulled it off. My wife has loved The Moldau ever since she first heard it and this was the first time she ever had the opportunity to play it. And she wasn't going to let it go to waste. She wanted to play it well as she possibly could, so she practiced every day. She didn't think she could play the difficult parts at the tempo the conductor wanted, and felt discouraged at times. But she kept trying and kept improving. She said others in her section took note and told her how well she played, and she came home last night feeling very gratified that she had given it everything she had. I am extremely proud of her.
And I've always loved that second movement of Beethoven's Symphony No. 7. Such a beautiful piece. Gives me goosebumps every time.
Whenever I attend a concert like this something stirs within me. I remember the years when my life revolved around music and I wanted to be a high school or college band director. I feel a desire to start playing the clarinet again and get back to the level of proficiency I had when I was in college (and keep improving from there) so I can play in a community band or orchestra.
Since I'm looking for a “disconnected hobby”, maybe this time I'll actually do something about it.
#100DaysToOffload (No. 39) #music