Clayton Wrap-Up

Whew! What a weekend! Clayton went well. It was nice to see the house so full for all four performances. Highlights for me were hearing KnoX Brass WorkX co. perform in the lobby before the concerts (with Jim Fellenbaum dancing and playing percussion... Who knew he was so multi-talented?!), both slide shows (great job, Stephanie!), and, of course, seeing Santa Claus. He's so jolly. And so enamored with the cow bell. It was a great weekend. Now, though, I think I'll go back to bed.

Angels Among Us

Monday I promised you the inside scoop on Clayton. We had two rehearsals Tuesday, and I know more, but I'm sure there are surprises even the orchestra doesn't know about yet.

The theme of this year's Clayton Holiday Concert is "Angels Among Us." We're playing all sorts of pieces about angels: an orchestral arrangement of Trisha Yearwood's "Another Angel Gets His Wings," "The Angels," "Angels in the Snow," and, of course, "Angels Among Us." There will be a slide show during "Angels Among Us" featuring the artwork of nearly 80 Knox County school children. A few years ago the KSO performed a Young People's Concert that linked visual art with music. That concert also featured a slide show of children's artwork. It sticks in my mind because some of the artwork did an impressive job showing what was happening in the music. At our rehearsals on Tuesday the slide show was not yet up and running. I'm looking forward to seeing the pictures at tonight's dress rehearsal. What could be sweeter than the depiction of an angel through the eyes of a child?

An unusual piece we're playing this year is Mancini's "Baby Elephant Walk." When I got the piece about a month ago to mark bowings, I thought it was for our January Pops concert. It is certainly not traditional holiday fare. Turns out the KSO is partnering with the Young-Williams Animal Center for this year's Clayton concert. This year has been particularly rough on all shelters with record numbers of people surrendering their pets due to financial hardship. Young-Williams is an angel in our community. The KSO will be collecting donations of items on the shelter's wish list at the concerts. Collection bins will be located in the lobby.

We have four performances of this year's Clayton Holiday Concert. Information on times and tickets can be found here.

The Best Week of the Season

This is my favorite week of the season. This week we begin rehearsals for the KSO's 23rd annual Clayton Holiday Concert. We don't start rehearsing until tomorrow, so I can't give you specifics yet, but here are the main reasons I love playing Clayton.

* People are happy during Clayton. The festivities along with the fact that it is the final concert before we all get a break puts everyone in a good mood.

* There is always a lot going on for this concert. Maybe not all the way to a partridge in a pear tree, but we do have dancers, two choirs, vocal soloists, and Santa for this concert. Add in the entire KSO and it's a full house on stage.

* Santa Claus will be there! This is exciting to me for a couple of reasons. It gives me tremendous leverage at home. Eventually this will change, but right now my five year old daughter is extremely impressed that I work with Santa. She even told her classmates that I fixed his pants last year. Santa is great to work with. He never throws a diva tantrum.

* The music is familiar and beloved. This holds true not only for the audience but also for the musicians. We've all played Sleigh Ride and Christmas Festival Overture too many times to count. The familiarity is comfortable. Like the Nutcracker, we know much of the music so well that we can just sit back and enjoy making music together.

* I like to watch the audience at the Clayton concerts. People are happy and excited. The children are especially sweet. The looks on their faces when Santa comes out for the first time is priceless.

I'll have more behind-the-scenes specifics for you on this years Clayton concert later this week.

I Saw Mommy Stitching Santa's Pants

Friday evening when Santa came on-stage for the first time during the Clayton Holiday Concert, I noticed that he had a hole in his pants. I figured that since I could see it, the audience probably could too so I told the symphony's director of operations after the concert. Her reaction was, “Oh no, not again!” Turns out this is not the first time Santa has had a problem with his pants. I offered to fix them.

I think most people have a secret, or not-so-secret passion. Mine is all things related to sewing. When we bought our house one of the big selling points with us was the large bonus room. At first the room was primarily dedicated to music with a small corner for my sewing machine. Now the opposite is true. Slowly, the sewing machines, cutting table, and fabric have taken over the room. Even when I am ripping out a pants zipper that I accidentally installed backward (so you would have to reach your hand down your pants to pull it up...) I am always happy when I'm sewing. I love playing the viola and I'm glad to play with the Knoxville Symphony, but if The Metropolitan Opera Company or Cirque du Soleil called needing a costume designer I'd be there in a heartbeat. This is why I offered to fix Santa's pants.

My motto when fixing something is “First do no harm.” This is followed closely by, “Measure twice, cut once.” When I took out the old repairs to see what I had to work with I had visions of Santa wearing a pair of red sweat pants for the rest of the Clayton performances. The pants were in bad shape. Finally I said a little prayer, made a slit in the lining and repaired them as best I could. Luckily my repairs held for the rest of the performances. I did cringe every time Santa high kicked or karate-chopped his way across the stage. I had hideous visions of his pants disintegrating on the spot.

I enjoyed playing costume mistress for the night, but I think the best part of the whole situation was seeing my four-year-old's reaction when she got up in the morning to find Santa's pants hanging up in the studio.

The Weather Outside is Frightful

Oh the weather outside is frightful, but the music is so delightful. And since the stores are so insane, let it rain, let it rain, let it rain! Wait. That's not really how the song goes, is it? In any case, that is how I feel right now. This week work has been my haven from the craziness of the season (and the weather!).

We began rehearsals on Tuesday for the Clayton Holiday Concert. This concert is fun for a variety of reasons. It is always the last thing on the KSO's schedule before winter break. Playing in an orchestra requires people to work closely with each other. Physically, we don't really have our own space (no cubicals) and the nature of the work is personal and intense. Beginning around the end of November, people start getting cranky. Everyone seems to brighten up for the Clayton concert because we know that a break is imminent.

Clayton is also fun because there are always many elements that aren't present in other concerts. Tuesday night our operations manager made an announcement cautioning us about having open containers of liquids on stage. This is a no-no under usual circumstances, but for Clayton we are so wired up that a spill has the potential to fry several people. Not that I find electrocution exciting. It's the things powered by all the wires that I find interesting. In addition to the usual stand lights, monitors and amplification, there are lit Christmas trees and decorations. It's very festive.

For women, the dress code usually relaxes for this concert. Normally we have very specific dress requirements: all black, no plunging necklines, at least a ¾ length sleeve, dress pants or tea to ankle length skirt, black hose, black closed-toe shoes. For the holiday concert we get to add a bit of color. This year we can wear red accessories. This announcement prompted an earnest back-stage debate among the women of the orchestra about what constitutes an accessory. Red shoes, boas, socks, scarfs, flashing reindeer noses, giant Christmas ball earrings, and tinsel were all discussed as possible apparel. Depending on what people choose to wear, this has the potential of being just as festive as the Christmas trees and decorations.

We have many guests for this concert. Joining the symphony on stage are the Knoxville Choral Society, Sound Company Children's Chorus, Appalachian Ballet, vocalist Shira Adler, and, of course, Santa Claus. Santa is one of my all-time favorite guest artists. He's just so jolly. I also get major respect from my four-year-old because I know Santa.

Don't let the weather keep you away from this concert. The Civic is warm and dry and if your holiday spirit is flagging from stress and exhaustion, a few hours of music and entertainment will leave you with renewed excitement for the holidays. Who knows, it might even snow.