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| - The Cleveland Orchestra is arguably one of the finest in America, and the world, today....and with good reason. If you haven't been out to experience this treasure sitting in our backyard, please go at some point. And I don't want to hear excuses of, "but I don't like classical music"...they have a wide variety of concerts available that may suit your tastes, just take a look at what they have to offer and get out there to try it just once! They even have small ensembles that go out to play at the Happy Dog...now that's accessibility ;o)
My Christmas surprise before leaving home to Canada involved an early performance of the Orchestra's Christmas Concert before heading out to dinner. I can safely say that I think we've found a new Christmas tradition! Robert Porco conducted the Orchestra along with the Chorus (the adult version and the Children's Chorus) through classical, semi-classical and traditional Christmas songs and carols. The atmosphere was festive, with concert goers dressed to the nines....lots of red velvet dresses on little girls and sweater vests on young boys. Some of the highlights of the evening included the Twelve Days of Christmas that had audience members lined up at the microphones to sing "Five Gold(en) Rings" (some of them were even in tune and quite good!) and a sing-along version of Silent Night.
Cleveland's first couple of theater, Reuben and Dorothy Silver, came on stage to regale us all with an orchestrated version of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas.....I think everyone in the audience was brought back to their childhood with their magnificent reading. I will admit I was fighting back tears by the end of it....
If you have a yearning for a simpler, family-oriented Christmas that hearkens back to times of door-to-door caroling followed by Wassail and cider for the younger ones, this may be the event for you....
Our most recent outing came about because I love Stravinsky and they happened to be playing the Firebird Suite. And no, I didn't care that it was billed as a family concert and I didn't have a child to take with, I'm a big enough kid as it is! If you're looking to introduce your children to classical music, this is a great way to do it. The Orchestra has fun activities prior to the show, including coloring, a dance area where the kids could get up on the stage with members of the Cleveland School of Dance and an Instrument Discovery center where your little ones get the chance to pick up and get up close to those cool instruments they'll be seeing later on stage.
The performance itself had pieces from Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev and Glinka, along with the aforementioned Stravinsky....but they were pieces that everyone has probably heard in snippets here and there in their lifetime (most likely in an advert on TV or in a movie). Assistant conductor James Feddeck made the afternoon entertaining, putting together a program that introduced all the kids in the audience (big ones included) to musical themes and stories; as well as to the different groupings of the orchestra, every section got the chance to introduce themselves....and apparently the percussion section has "the most fun"! The Orchestra was magnificent, taking everyone through the stories of each piece with grace and flourish, it was particularly fun sitting next to a little girl who I was afraid might fall out of the box because she was so engrossed with the music. Dancers from the Joffrey Ballet joined local dancers to bring The Firebird ballet to life.....my only complaint was that they rested on stage while my favorite and most intense part of the piece was playing....definitely no Black Swan, that's for sure!
If you're worried about whether your kids will make it through a full-fledged concert, bring them to one of the dedicated Family Concerts here, the running time is around an hour, just perfect for little ones who might start to get a bit antsy after sitting quiet for a long period of time. The prices are also discounted to encourage people to bring their families, box seats are only $30, balcony is even cheaper....and no, there's not a bad seat in the house. The next Family Concert is Peter and the Wolf.....so if anyone wants to lend me their child for an afternoon, I'd be much obliged for the chance to not look so out of place!
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