BPO concert tripOn Sunday, October 11, Community MusicWorks families boarded a bus and headed up to Boston's beautiful Sanders Theatre to see a performance of the Boston Philharmonic featuring violinist Feng Ning.
A busy street festival slowed our travel to Boston and we thought we were going to miss the first half of the concert, but the ushers graciously let us enter quietly in between movements. We arrived to hear Feng Ning play the Brahms Violin Concerto.
The audience clapped enthusiastically and he played two encores for us. For most students, this was the highlight of the concert: "I liked the short songs after the concerto because they were funny!" "It was interesting how he played and plucked at the same time. He must have some seriously strong fingers."
After intermission, we returned to see the orchestra play Antonin Dvorak's Symphony No. 7. The piece was truly exciting: "I liked the loud parts!" "I loved it. Not just one movement—all of it. It went from extremely loud to toned down… and the violins were all in perfect harmony!” "It felt like it really had a story behind it. I really liked the sound of the wind section—it was really cool to hear the bassoon!" After the concert, we had a chance to catch glimpses of both Feng Ning and Benjamin Zander, conductor of the Boston Philharmonic. We also got a chance to talk about the music: "It made me want to see what I can do with my instrument. I want to try some of the things that the violinist was doing" "I'm excited! I really want to go play!"
It was a great start to a season of exciting concert trips. Looking forward to seeing you on the next one! -Aaron McFarlane, Fellow |
