February 12, 2023

Music is the ultimate time machine. Pictures can bring back memories. A movie can be transportive, but those characters aren’t us. There’s an element of vicariousness that, while powerful, in terms of personal time travel slightly misses the mark. The same could be said of a poem or novel. Music however, releases our own feelings, our own experiences, our own memories, and while times (and we) change, a song sounds the same as we remembered it.
 
Last night’s Lansing Symphony Pops, “Music of the 80’s,” was a transportive event for those in the audience with memories of that decade. The energy in the room from the large and enthusiastic audience was palpable. The sea of cell-phone flashlights (the 21st-Century’s version of Bic lighters) coming from the audience was just one clue as to the joy they were experiencing. The audience chorus of well over 1000 people singing “Don’t Stop Believing” at the top of their lungs (and in tune!) was another.  BTW…there were many audience members who weren’t even born yet in the 1980’s, and they were right there with us. Perhaps last night will be a memory someday unleashed by a musical time machine 40 years into their futures.
 
I’ve always enjoyed pops concerts and have done hundreds in my career. I like that we are reaching a different demographic of our community. I like the visceral response and direct interaction with the audience as well. I’ve noticed a change though since emerging from pandemic lockdowns. These concerts have a deeper impact. It’s not just “fun”, it’s celebration. There is a new-found appreciation for the joy live music can bring, especially when in the company of a thousand or so of your closest friends. Live music rules.
 
From here we turn this week to The Lansing Symphony @ The Robin, our series featuring contemporary chamber music. Thursday night our guest artists will include musicians from Lansing’s All The Above Hip Hop Academy collaborating with several of our musicians. It’s a program of crossover music--classical music mixed with hop hop, pop, bluegrass, Yiddish music and others! These programs have been selling out, so if you want to hear it, you'd better get your ticket now!
 
NEXT UP
 
Lansing Symphony Orchestra Chamber Players
Robin Theater 7:30 p.m.
February 16, 2023
 
Music of Son Lux, Jeremy Crosmer, composers from All the Above Hip Hop Academy,  and Adam Har-Zvi
 
#Lansingsymphony #RobinTheater #alltheabovehiphopacademy