Different Perspective

Athleticism has never been my prowess. When I perform as a soloist or as part of a quartet the thing that keeps me up at night is not the actual playing, it is the mere act of walking out on stage. I am a step aerobics teacher's nightmare because, for as much as I can control my fine motor skills, I am a gross motor dunce. So, I shouldn't have been shocked when, on Monday, I did my best impression of an Olympic ski crash. Only I was just walking. And there wasn't any snow. (Yes, I know that in there, somewhere, there is a viola joke just begging to be had.)

I'm fine. I'm not sure which is more badly bruised, my arm or my ego. I am, however, out for the week. This afforded me a rare chance to check out the symphony from the audience. Last night I attended the dress rehearsal for tonight and tomorrow night's Masterworks performances. It was fun, I really enjoyed listening. Things sound very different in the hall then they do from the first desk of the viola section. Last night the orchestra sounded particularly great in Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet.

Mendelssohn's Incidental Music to A Midsummer Night's Dream features actors from the Clarence Brown Theatre. It was quite entertaining. I got the giggles hearing the character of Thisbe performed in Shakespearean English with a Southern accent. If you are attending the concert and aren't familiar with the play, I would advise reading a synopsis. The actors from Clarence Brown are playing more than one role apiece, differentiated with different hats, and, of course, are not performing the entire play. It was interesting to see how Lucas and the actors from Clarence Brown put this together. There is a good balance of the actors and orchestra taking turns being the main focus. I was also pleasantly surprised at how much the orchestral passages enhanced the mood of the play. If you are able to brave this horrible winter weather we are having, I highly recommend attending tonight or tomorrow.