60 Before 60 Project: #7 - Go to the Symphony
The first time I went to the symphony was about seven years ago. I really enjoyed the experience and afterwards thought I really should make a point of going back more frequently.
Needless to say, that didn’t happen.
Partially because of COVID, partially because of procrastination it just never materialized – until this week.
We noticed that our city’s symphony was playing a festive concert in conjunction with their chorus over the holiday season. We thought what a great way to get into the holiday spirit by listening to some live Christmas music.
First we had to get there. We live in the suburbs and the concert hall was downtown. It really wasn’t that difficult to get there and fortunately I purchased parking in advance so that wasn’t an issue.
As we wandered around the streets before the concert, you couldn’t help but pick up on the energy that the downtown core has. There was a buzz about it. My husband and I both thought we really should go downtown more.
As we entered the concert hall, I noticed most people were casually dressed and pretty relaxed. I didn’t see the long dresses and tuxedos that you often associate with going to the symphony or opera (think Pretty Woman).
When we got to our seats, I admired the architecture of the building, It had an airy feeling to it with it’s rounded walls and lots of light wood. Even though we were in the balcony, the view of the stage was pretty good.
Then the concert began.
It’s one thing to listen to music through a speaker but it’s something else when you hear it live. You can feel the energy of the performers as they play, you see the back and forth between the different instrumental sections and you witness the drama of the conductor as he leads the orchestra through the different pieces.
Then there was the chorus.
My husband counted 137 people singing. When they sang the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah, you could hear each of them but in tightly woven unison. The power behind this was amazing. The music literally reached into your body. Unfortunately now because of this performance, I’ll possibly be overly critical of any other choirs I hear in the future.
At the end of the concert, I felt rejuvenated.
This experience was like giving yourself permission to just disconnect and not do anything but listen for 90 minutes. And hopefully it won’t be another seven years before I go back again.
My 60 Before 60 Lesson: Live music can really soothe the soul.
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