Peanuts Gallery Symphony
Awaiting the start of Johnny's first symphony
Trying out a violin in the instrument petting zoo
Trying out a french horn
Taking his turn at the xylophone
Johnny and Mama all smiles after the show
Standing in the waterfall at the Wortham Center
Enjoying the day
Beautiful afternoon on the bayou
I call this cubist cellist
Big brown sphere
Trying out a violin in the instrument petting zoo
Trying out a french horn
Taking his turn at the xylophone
Johnny and Mama all smiles after the show
Standing in the waterfall at the Wortham Center
Enjoying the day
Beautiful afternoon on the bayou
I call this cubist cellist
Big brown sphere
I took Johnny to his first symphony on Saturday which was a Peanut's Gang themed performance. The conductor came out in rabbit ears and tail for the first piece, Rossini's Barber of Seville Overture, which was lively and fun, yet not too loud for tender young ears. A 9 year old girl played Beethoven's Piano Concerto #1 in C major and brought me to tears. I couldn't believe how astoundingly talented she was. Playing in front of a gigantic audience is more than most 9 year old's could handle, and she did it with breathtaking skill and speed. God definitely blessed her with gifted fingers. Next there was a 6 part piece by Zwilich entitled Peanuts Gallery for Piano and Orchestra which very effectively conveyed the mood and spirit of each character ... a sleepy lullaby for Linus, a sassy samba for Snoopy, a brooding lament for Charlie Brown, etc. Next there was A Grand, Grand Festival Overture by Arnold which was accompanied by 4 silly maids and their vacuum cleaners. I really didn't get this piece as the vacuum cleaners really didn't seem to interact with the orchestra instruments very effectively. Johnny didn't really get it either. The last piece was the theme from the Simpson's show to demonstrate that much of the music in TV shows, movies and especially cartoons comes from popular classical pieces. Johnny seemed to really enjoy the performance, although he did get a little fidgety toward the end.
After the performance, there was a student ensemble playing in the lobby so the kids could basically walk right up as close as they wanted to watch the muscians playing their instruments. Johnny loved the instrument petting zoo and tried his hand at the violin, french horn, trumpet and xylophone. We stood in line behind a bunch of kids and no one could make any sound with the french horn or trumpet ... until Johnny that is. I explained to him how to blow into it and out came a super loud honk! Everyone around clapped and cheered.
Johnny and I decided to walk around and went to the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch and a milkshake. After lunch, we walked around outside the Wortham Center where there are a number of interesting waterfalls and walkways leading down to the bayou. It was a simply gorgeous afternoon and we did our best to soak it all in. Johnny enjoyed stretching his legs and running around the plazas burning off some of that endless kid energy.
Johnny has asked me a bunch of times if we can go back again, so my plan is to take him back for the next performance in December to see the Grinch Who Stole Christmas. We both had a wonderful day and relished our Mama-Johnny time together.
After the performance, there was a student ensemble playing in the lobby so the kids could basically walk right up as close as they wanted to watch the muscians playing their instruments. Johnny loved the instrument petting zoo and tried his hand at the violin, french horn, trumpet and xylophone. We stood in line behind a bunch of kids and no one could make any sound with the french horn or trumpet ... until Johnny that is. I explained to him how to blow into it and out came a super loud honk! Everyone around clapped and cheered.
Johnny and I decided to walk around and went to the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch and a milkshake. After lunch, we walked around outside the Wortham Center where there are a number of interesting waterfalls and walkways leading down to the bayou. It was a simply gorgeous afternoon and we did our best to soak it all in. Johnny enjoyed stretching his legs and running around the plazas burning off some of that endless kid energy.
Johnny has asked me a bunch of times if we can go back again, so my plan is to take him back for the next performance in December to see the Grinch Who Stole Christmas. We both had a wonderful day and relished our Mama-Johnny time together.
posted by Mandy Klevenski | 4:10 PM
4 Comments:
An "instrument petting zoo" - what a great idea! Sounds like a wonderful day. :)
I am so excited to take Benjamin to one of their concerts for younger kids! He is obsessed with instruments right now, but I don't think he'd do well in a concert situation. We'd make it 20 minutes - tops. However, I do think he'd love the petting zoo idea. I am going to file this away in my "To Do When Benjamin is Bigger" archive!
You are so beautiful! And also, you do beautiful things for your boys. That's a rockin' combo. You inspire me to take my little Stink to a show soon. He'd love it. I have such a passion for musical theatre and seeing your love for symphanies reminds me to not get so caught up in the grind - something I'm guilty of lately. Thanks.
Teri - Johnny had been asking and asking if he could try out different instruments, so when we finally did get a real opportunity to do so he was thrilled.
Rachel - 45 minutes was even a bit long for Johnny. I didn't even attempt to bring Sammy. If you are interested in some really neat instrument toys, I found a great website that sells a variety of playable toy instruments at pretty good prices. Check it out! www.musicforkids.com
Mama P - Okay, this brings your total use of the word beautiful on my blog up to 8! Can I like ... hire you to do that every week so I can smile every time I read my comments? Tee hee! Thanks for making my day!
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