ADVENTURE NUMBER 1: A Night at the Symphony
Ms. Jax, who is a fan of the Symphony, texted me as I was in the gym and told me about a tribute concert to African-American music @ 7:30 PM this past Tuesday. It was 6PM that very day when I finished my workout and I still needed to walk back to my apartment, shower, and catch a bus downtown (I can take a while!). Oh boy, I rushed to Heinz Hall (home of Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra) as fast as my little legs and bus wheels could go (very slow by the way). To my pleasant surprise, Jax (bless her soul) had gotten tickets for us to sit in the orchestra section (squeal)! Sorry for all the dramatics, just extremely excited...now for the meat of this post...THE REVIEW (dun dun dun)!
PSO's 4th Annual Tribute Concert to African American Music was originally established as a means of creating a concert that reflected cultural contributions of the African American community. This year the symphony invited Sean Jones to perform the works of George Gershwin and Duquesne faculty member David Cutler. In addition to Sean Jones' performances, Adolphus Hailstork and Duke Ellington were recognized by the orchestra.
The night kicked off with Adolphus Hailstork's Symphony No. 3. As Jax and I took our seats, we were RUDELY interrupted by an usher trying to seat people during the first movement. Unfortunately, we can not accurately describe the first movement due to this ill fate of nature! However, the second movement made up for everything we had just been through. Tears were in our eyes as the music picked up and they began to play the second movement Moderato. Words can not describe this beautiful masterpiece. As the second movement came to a close, and the third began I knew that this would be an unforgettable performance. This final movement was the most emotional for me, as it grew to an intensity of sound. It created a dramatic touch, making a fitting finale of the first piece.
After an intermission, where FINALLY everything was fixed with seating people, we had new guests to our right. As Jax and I looked around, we were astonished to see a boy sleeping in the center of the orchestra. His mouth wide open, and his head flown back across his seat, we wondered if he was catching flies.
The second piece by Duke Ellington, A Medley for Orchestra, was both very bombastic and playful. Although sounding similar to "Hit the road Jack," it blew both Jax and I away. It contained a good array of Duke Ellington pieces including the famous standard It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing).
What we didn't expect was what was coming next. Before this concert, we had no idea of the trumpet extraordinaire Sean Jones (Jax faints at the mention of his name). I had heard his name mentioned by a friend of mine, but never knew of his swagger. When he started the first piece, Gershwin's Love Is Here Stay, Jax immediately seized my hand. This piece was beautiful, and we were speechless when it ended, looking forward to more.
Embraceable You was Jax's favorite piece of the night, and touched her very soul. This standard has always been a favorite of mine, as well, but I had always felt that it had been done little justice in many renditions. Sean Jones hit the nail on the head for this piece and made my dreams come true when he performed, in my opinion, the best rendition of Embraceable You known to mankind (geeky moment). The climactic moments of Sean Jones' performance were appropriately highlighted by the orchestra and added a dramatic flair to a song with a simple message. Kudos to you all, Sean Jones and the PSO!
The last symphonic piece performed by the PSO and Sean Jones was a piece composed by David Cutler entitled Approaching Chiang Mai. Below is a picture of the temple "Wat Doi Suthep," where the composer was inspired.
In my opinion, the performance of this piece was by far the greatest. It was so overwhelming, that I had goosebumps all over my body. This piece had many aspects of western musical tradition, yet it did not fail to capture the essence of Thailand as well. You are reminded instantly of an Asian influence as the piece flourishes into the climax. The piece through out had contained a build up of sound from the different sections of the orchestra. Needless to say, by the end it was one complete thunder of musicality. I almost peed in my pants with excitement and you best believe I made it a priority to shake hands with the composer himself after the show!
Finally, as tradition at the Tribute Concert, the finale J. Rosamond Johnson's Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing (the African American National Anthem) was performed by the orchestra as well as sung by the patrons, reminding us of how far of a journey African Americans have come and the contributions they have made to our society.
As we were leaving, a jazz ensemble Kenny Blake and the "Live at the Hurricane" musicians performed a post-concert in the lobby. This was the best part of the night, as Sean Jones came out and gave an on-the-fly, more intimate concert for those who stuck around. Hearing his performance made me weak in the knees, as there was no where to sit due to the mass of people living off his every note.
He then walked around, as we watched his every step, and made small talk with the people around him. At this time, I figured it was now or never, and I walked straight up to him. I looked at him , Sean Jones, right in the eye and asked him for his autograph. Jax was too star struck to talk, but I forced her to come with me. Needless to say, we both got personalized messages on our programs.
All in all, the night was a night to remember. I will never forget our first adventure in our journey to complete our undergrad with style.
So there you have it folks, and believe me we have much more to come. Adventure #1 = Complete.
