Friday Night

Friday night, Xanthe went to a party at Aubrey's house.  Jennie and I were spontaneous and Collin and Freestone ended up having a sleepover.  Scott took Araceli to dinner and a production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.  Ruby stayed home with the littles and recovered from another grueling week of homework, teaching, dance, guitar, and trip planning.  Golda and I went to the symphony.

This was a concert I wanted to see because it included the Beethoven Violin Concerto and a new commissioned piece called Eos.  I am a big fan of new music.  Sometimes it's trite, sometimes it sounds like a parody of itself, but...sometimes it's amazing.  And we were there for the world premiere of this piece, which is really exciting.  When I was in college, all the orchestras at Indiana were required to rehearse and perform new music, written by composition majors in our school.  A lot of times, the notation was difficult to read, and maybe ridiculous or not suited to our instrument.  Occasionally, there would be a note that wasn't even possible on the violin.  So it was a learning experience for everybody.  I ended up learning the vocabulary of new music, the classical music of our time.  I think audiences are unfamiliar with that language for the most part, so the reception was cool yet polite Friday night for Eos.  It was a fantastic piece.  The Beethoven blew everyone away, though, and the audience left happy.  Surprisingly, the Prokofiev Symphony was my favorite, and it was the only piece I didn't specifically go to see.  It was so light and crisp, like a citrus salad.  Yum.

The best part of the night was that Golda and I ran into Julie Watkins at the box office, just as we were about to buy tickets, and she gave us two of hers.  We got to sit in the seats the Watkins have had since Abravanel Hall was built.  I remember sitting in those seats as a kid, when I was lucky enough to be invited by Sarah.  Afterwards, her dad would take us to Fernwood's for ice cream.  I'm still so grateful to have been invited to those special events.  Sitting in those seats brought back memories.

 Hopefully, our kids will remember all the concerts, plays and ballets we enjoy with them, too.  This was last week at Swan Lake with two of my beautiful dancers.  It's so gratifying to share the language required to appreciate the ballet, the symphony, new music, old music, new dance, old dance.  Even if we didn't have the background that enriches our experience, just being out on the town, taking in beauty and watching the crowds would be a slice of heaven in my opinion.

I want my children to know that I value the arts.  I had a beautiful moment when Tziporah was studying this program at my shop.  I heard her say, "Is that my mom?  I think it is.  That's my mom dancing."  I know, she's delusional.  Or you could look at it like this:  She truly sees my heart.