One Symphany, Four Movements

As a music major now in her SECOND semester of her JUNIOR year (ack! Still sorry about that!), Jessie has many opportunities to attend fine arts performances.

A week ago, she invited us to Symphony Under the Stars at her university. We packed a blanket and chairs and headed out with Jessie, Mrs. M., and Papa.


This was my first view:



Mrs. M tried to get me to move, but I could see fine if I just leaned to the right a bit.


There! See the orchestra?



Dude. Seriously? Sit down!


Dude?


Since students, particularly music majors, are required to attend so many fine arts performances per semester, the lawn was filled. Jessie made sure she picked up a program as her proof of attendance, as did many of the other students. The view cleared considerably after several students felt they had met the requirement and could leave.


The orchestra was made up of music majors, professors, and even non-music majors. The piece they selected was Symphony No. 1 in D Major, for Large Orchestra by Gustav Mahler (1860-1911). It had four movements and each was wonderfully described in our program so we could follow along easily. Even though the violins sounded a bit cluttered in places, I loved it!

I also loved the eclectic mixture of students, families, and the elderly all around us.


Look at these beautiful people!
His Brown-Eyed Girl, Jessie; Tyler; and Glenna.



Oh no! They both heard the camera! How do I take the sound off?
Eyes narrowing, mouths flattening.



See the sideways glance? I love how Tyler's face is also telling me to put the camera down. Right after this photo I got "the Look" and a "Mom!" from him.

Heh.


Mrs. M and her father:
aka Papa.

If one could let go of decorum and allow people to be people, he might find the Symphony Under the Stars to be a pleasant way to spend an evening. In fact, it was easy to turn it into a people-watching event backed by an orchestra!


At one point, Ty told me to look at the moon to our left:
See it there, through the trees?



I wasn't fooled. I knew this was the real moon:



Many universities have free concerts. I would encourage all of you to seek them out, get out of the house, and enjoy!