Worcester Music Festival Blog: January 2012

Inspiring Week

A week has passed since I last posted on the blog and there is so much to discuss. My youngest son, Warren (almost 14 years) joined me last weekend for the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra concert and loved it. Students and faculty from Worcester Academy of Music graced our lobbies with music as we entered Mechanics Hall (see photo). Warren and I spent the first half of the concert on the floor, and then decided to watch the second half from the balcony. The balcony was the place to be - amazing to look down into the orchestra and see each musician at work.

An experience they will long remember...

Before the John Pizzarelli Quartet concert and during intermission, some wonderful students and faculty from the Joy of Music Program (JOMP) played in the lobby and Washburn Hall. I can't even begin to describe how magical it was walking into Mechanics Hall with young musicians playing as I entered. We received a lovely note from Wendy Ardizonne at JOMP today and I would like to share part of it with you:

Bring your Children & Grandchildren to the Symphony!

If you are reading my blog, you most likely have a passion for classical music. Correct? Are you aware that most American children grow up today having never been to see a live symphony orchestra? How sad for them and how sad for the future of live classical music. When you were a child, wasn't there someone who brought you to concerts and shared, maybe even passed down, their passion for music? Do you realize now what a huge impact they had on your life? I ask you to look at the children in your life and provide them with the same opportunities that someone provided for you.

Short message for MLK Jr. Day

I usually begin this blog at 3pm everyday and today has just taken on a life of its own. Rather than try to dig something out of my brain to write about, I am going to just leave you with two quotes from the great Martin Luther King Jr. whose life and meassage of peace we celebrate today:

“Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.”
― Martin Luther King Jr.

My Weekend Advice

Here is my weekend advice: Go to a show - anything live. Whether it is music, theatre, dance, visual art, sports - turn off the TV and go see something live.