May 23, 2024

Having a young person’s concert as the final event of an orchestra’s season is a nice way to close things out before we all go our separate ways for the summer, and Lansing Symphony had ours yesterday. YPC’s are such important work for us, and you can tell there is a collective recognition of that in the group.
 
Also, these concerts are a bit more casual than presenting a Rachmaninoff Symphony which requires us to muster our top form in execution, endurance and concentration, leaving us usually quite spent at their conclusion. Not that YPC’s don’t present their own kind of challenge, they do! The music is mostly uncompromising in technical and musical demands, and we have very limited rehearsal time to put it all together, but still there is a more casual vibe to the whole thing.
 
Perhaps the lunch break is one of the defining features of the  season-closer YPC experience. We often say an orchestra is a family, but in terms of a family gatherings, rehearsals and concerts don’t allow for much time to connect about anything other than the music itself.  There is not much space for chit-chat. Most players arrive and go directly into warmup mode, and when rehearsal is over, most  are out the door and on their way home within minutes…you’d think there had been a fire alarm. The lunch break between the two YPC”s (provided by the LSO) gave us all a chance and an excuse to hang out a bit, bond, get caught and enjoy each other’s company before we don’t see each other for a few months.
 
The concert itself is always a joy too. The kids come so well prepared by their teachers for the concert. You can tell they are really engaged and getting a lot from the experience. We love playing for them, we love sharing with them, we love knowing that this moment, this slice of time in their growth is one full of joy, learning and inspiration.  How lucky we are to play that part in their young lives.
 
Up next for me is our season opener at Chautauqua…hard to believe that time is here again.
 
NEXT UP
 
July 16, 2024
 
Chautauqua Music School Festival Orchestra
Chautauqua Institution Amphitheater
8:15 p.m.
 
Roger BRIGGS             Gathering Together
HAYDN                        Symphony No. 95
ELGAR                         Enigma Variations

#lansingsymphony
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