We All Need a Break

It's been a rough couple of weeks, and some are finding it harder to enjoy some of the traditions which make the holiday season what it is. As Christmas break takes us away from "this petty pace from day to day," it is comforting to know that the new year promises a whole new crop of transcendent moments and thrilling performances. January is packed with concerts, and there will be new determination to make every note count and provide nourishment to ears hungry for beauty. January 13th, the Chamber Orchestra will be bringing an all-British program to the Bijou. Just a couple nights later, on the 15th, we will be travelling to Maryville High School for a side-by-side concert with the MHS orchestra. Carrying on without a comma, on the 16th and 17th, Gabe Lefkowitz's Concertmaster Series continues with another installment at Remedy Coffee in the Old City. The British Invasion continues with a Lennon-McCartney tribute on the 19th, and the following Thursday and Friday brings us to the big stage at the Tennessee Theatre with Beethoven's Emperor Concerto and Schumann's Rhenish Symphony. Wow. Now that the world has not ended, I guess it's time to get cracking on some of those notes.

In the meantime, since all of us could use a laugh, I have scoured Facebook for more clever and downright hilarious holiday-related humor. Enjoy!

My friend Marjorie Goldberg Fink is a freelance violist in Philly. We went to the Hartt School together back in the 80's. Her kitteh Tulip is learning the rules of the dreidl. 

 Amy Muchnick is professor of viola at Missouri state university. Another old violist friend from college, another cat learning the hard way.

Maybe this is a little TMI, but it's nice to know that this elf will not HAVE to eat the prune cobbler.

Speaking of sugar plums, different ways of playing familiar holiday music are always entertaining. I never knew what a big instrument a glass harmonica was! (video)

This isn't holiday-related per se, but it's JUST WHAT I WANTED!!!!

Thanks for reading, and Happy Holidays from the KSO family!!