Concert time!

Friday and Saturday of our trip were concert time for me. On Friday we did a concert at the Allen Performing Arts Centre, which was totally fun. It was interesting to put two choirs and two orchestras together - and actually I was surprised by how easy that turned out to be! It was also great to do our thing for an audience that had no idea what to expect - and we never met an audience that we didn't wow. Adam has been asking for a while to see a concert rather than be in a concert, and this was his chance. He and Ellie both loved it.

Straight after the concert, the rest of the family went off to get ice-cream ( I mention it only because in three trips to Texas I have never yet made it to Braum's ice-cream - I'm a little bitter) while for me it was off into Dallas for a late night rehearsal at the Meyerson Symphony Centre before our big performance on Saturday. Here we are in rehearsal - picture courtesy of Jeff's phone!

Do we look like we've already played a three hour rehearsal and a concert that day? The rehearsal went late - we weren't done until well after midnight. The Meyerson was an amazing hall - the acoustics were so sharp and clear. Even though I was totally exhausted it was just a pleasure to play there.

The concert at ACDA on Saturday was absolutely spectacular. If there is any such thing as a perfect concert, I think this might have been it.

Our normal audience is heavily made up of doting parents and grandparents, and we know that musically they are not really that aware of some of the nuances of what is going on. Every time we play Riu Riu Chiu somebody will start clapping at what they think is the end...but it is not the end, and after a grand pause and key change we go galloping on to the actual end. This was the first time we had performed for an audience composed of trained musicians. I don't know what the general feeling was among the choir and orchestra, but personally I thought that they would be more critical and hard to please than our normal audience. And so there was that extra edge of anticipation that goes along with that.

In the event, exactly the opposite was true. They were so enthusiastic, and we got four (yes, FOUR!!!) standing ovations. In a program that only had eight numbers in it anyway due to the conference time constraints. I think because they were musicians they really, truly appreciated and understood the quality of both the arrangements (which are superb) and the performance (which was pretty darn good!). 

One of the things that I loved the most from that concert was that at the end of a piece, especially one with a pretty spectacular finish, they waited to applaud. So we finished our last piece, 'How Great Thou Art' , and then - nothing. Except the echoes of the sound reverberating around the concert hall. For about three seconds. Until the conductor brought his arms down and then there was a crash of applause. It. Was. Magic. I loved it. Loved it! It was the last number, and we knew that it had been a great performance anyway, but then that extra three seconds to just savor it before it was all over... it was a gift. I will always remember that moment!

I am so glad that we went on this trip. I wouldn't have missed being in that concert for the world!