It was "parents weekend" in Rochester at the Eastman School of Music. It was great to see Annie, get to know some of her friends, and experience Eastman in a way that we never have before.
I couldn't help but feel slightly out of my element, though.
Let me restate that.
I felt VERY much out of my element!
Being a music school, the activities of the weekend were just that.
On Friday night, Annie and her friends were extremely excited to attend a concert by the Eastman Philharmonia performing Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 2. I had never heard of Gustav Mahler, but we went along.
Being my first symphony EVER, and knowing I would be attending many more such performances in years to come, I went with the mindset that I could learn to appreciate classical music. As I sat between Annie and Vance, I began by listening closely to the sounds. My foot was moving in time to the music. A short time later, Annie asked me to put my foot down because it was distracting her. My mind began to wander. After a few minutes, it all began to sound the same.
On Saturday night, we attended a performance by the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra of concertos by Johannes Brahms and Bela Bartok. I have no idea what a "concerto" actually is, but the first was a piano concerto which lasted 45 minutes. Again, I tried to concentrate but found my mind wandering. The man behind us began to snore. If I truly had an appreciation for the music, I probably would have been annoyed. I did, however, find it amusing! The guest pianist was a tall, lanky man dressed in tails. I focused on him and was amazed at his talent. He seemed to be very emotionally involved in the music. When he finished a section of music, he flung his hands and body backwards and looked like he was going to fall off the bench. I laughed to myself, but upon looking around found that nobody else was amused! He continued to be extremely expressive with his body as he played. I watched people around me sitting still as statues. At one point my water bottle slipped and fell to the floor. Annie seemed annoyed. I felt like I had to sneeze and really didn't want to make another sound, so I held my finger tight under my nose for quite some time to stifle the sneeze. A lady not far from us unwrapped a candy or cough drop and I saw heads turn toward her in disapproval.
On both nights, I thought the music was performed well - it sounded good to me, anyways. But if you had put me in a room afterward and played excerpts of any of the
songs movements concertos symphonies - whatever they are - I am positive I would not be able to recognize a single one of them again.
I was most excited for the performance on Monday night of the Eastman Wind Orchestra (the freshman/sophomore wind ensemble) because Annie was playing in two of the songs. I took my camera and a few lenses with me and sat in the front row of the balcony.
There she was, performing in this magnificent theater!
Well, there she is...
OK, THERE she is!
The music sounded as good to me as the Rochester Philharmonic.
But then again, who am I to judge!
Afterward, I didn't feel as "out of my element" anymore.
They wanted pictures!
Above is a picture of Annie with the other 3 members of her saxophone quartet.
And here she is with more saxophone students.
And with me.
I took this picture of Annie outside the Kodak Theater after the concert. We were headed back to the hotel where we would order room service, get in our pj's and watch a few old episodes of Gilmore Girls before going to bed.
Before we went to sleep I entertained her with my impressions of the music and asked her all of the stupid questions that were going through my mind during the concert.
I knew she would go to class the next day and probably have a good laugh with her friends over my questions and comments.
I didn't care, though.
I was so proud of her and so happy to have spent such a wonderful weekend.
Parents Weekend.
You don't have to know a lot about music.
You just have to be a parent.
And THAT is where I am definitely in my element!
