Music in the Air

state capital building

The boys and I went on a field trip to Harrisburg last Friday.  The Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra puts on two Young Person's Concerts every year.  Maestro Stuart Malina does an excellent job sharing his love of music with the children in attendance.  He is always engaging and entertaining.  Before the performance, a guide is posted to the website that allows me to prepare the boys for the pieces that will be performed.  We can watch videos of performances of the music or read about the life of the composer. 

full house

One of the pieces played was Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme.  Maestro Malina explained the concept of a musical theme.  The orchestra then demonstrated what was meant by a variation in theme. When the performance of the piece was about to begin, the  audience was instructed to try and keep track of how many variations on the theme they could detect.  JT managed to correctly identify seven variations.  I wasn't so lucky.  I was a bit busy being distracted by the kids who kept clapping when the piece wasn't over.  It was funny the first couple times, but grew tedious quickly.

view from less than optimal seats

After the concert, we went for a walk around the capital.  It was a gorgeous day; beautiful blue skies, sixty degrees, perfect day for a walk.  After we were sure the crowds would have cleared out from the lunch rush, we went to the food court at Strawberry Square and ate unhealthy fast food.  I try to avoid that kind of thing, but sometimes I just can't resist. 

The day was a nice break from our usual at-home routine.  I'll be looking forward to the spring concert and another trip to our state capital.