For the first time in my adult life, I spent an evening at the symphony! Thanks to the generosity of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, I attended the season’s opening concert last night. Local bloggers were given free tickets to the show and invited to a post-concert reception with the musicians.
I must admit that, like Byron Chesney, I had the pre-symphony jitters. I was fine until just a couple of days before the show. I am a big fan of theatre and attend plays on a regular basis, but I hadn’t been to the symphony since I was a kid. What if I wore the wrong outfit? What if I acted in an unacceptable manner?
I met my friend Kevin in Market Square, and we then walked to the beautiful Tennessee Theatre. After having some champagne, we found our seats and prepared for a new experience. The first half of the show was by modern American composers. The first piece was Adams’ Short Ride in a Fast Machine. Then soloist Jeffrey Biegel took the stage for Liebermann’s Piano Concerto No. 3.
In my usual theatre fashion, I had gone to the restroom immediately before the show, as I knew that it would be near impossible to fight the crowds during intermission. Instead, I spent the intermission scanning the room for other bloggers. I didn’t see anyone that I recognized, but Kevin quickly pointed out that you could tell who the bloggers were simply by hair color. In a sea of white hair, other colors easily stood out. Surely those colorful heads of hair must belong to youthful, technologically gifted bloggers!
The first half of the concert had been enjoyable, but the second half was my favorite. It consisted of Copland’s Appalachian Spring and Gershwin’s An American in Paris. Osbasso had predicted that I’d like Appalachian Spring, and he was right! Both pieces were fantastic.
After the show, we made our way to the Glenn Miller Room for the Bloggers’ Reception. The first person I met was KSO Communications Director Stephanie Burdette. I then recognized Byron Chesney of Knoxville Trivia Blog. I had a great time chatting with him and his wife.
Rich, Lissa Kay, and Doug were there as well. I’ve had the pleasure of hanging out with them before, but it was certainly nice to see them again. I also met Frank Murphy and Craig Thomas. Is it just me, or are bloggers the nicest people you’ll ever meet?
I met Maestro Lucas Richman as well as a few of the KSO musicians. They were all so nice and down to earth! I would have stayed at the reception longer, but I was wearing heels that will never be worn again. My feet hurt so bad as I left the show that I just took off my shoes and walked the several blocks to my car barefoot.
As I mentioned, I had been really nervous before the show, but I was pleasantly surprised. My outfit didn’t stick out like a sore thumb, and I think I behaved in an acceptable manner! Yippee! It was a wonderful night, and I look forward to attending another show in the future.
If you’re in the Knoxville area and would like to attend a show, check out the KSO’s website for all the juicy details. And as an added incentive, you can find a great KSO coupon in the School Coupon Book. Buy one ticket to the Family Concert and get a second ticket free!
Thanks to Kevin for taking these great photos.
Maestro Richman with Jeffrey Biegel (That’s the Maestro’s son in the background)
Rich, Lissa Kay, and Stephanie
Be sure to check out these concert reviews from other local bloggers.
I Had a Blast at the Orchestra! by Doug McCaughan
Bloggers’ Field Trip by Frank Murphy
Bloggers at the Symphony by Lissa Kay
KSO Blogger Night Review by Byron Chesney
Semi-Live Blogging the Symphony by Craig Thomas
Semi-Live Blogging the Symphony Part 2 by Craig Thomas
The Symphony by Noah Caldwell (9 years old!)
KSO and Bloggers Unite! by Krisha
Night at the KSO by Brian Arner
Tweet, Tweet to the Music by Jack Lail
If you know of any other reviews, please let me know so I can post a link!
September 29th, 2007 at 12:19 am
Way cool promotion! I don’t think it would work around here–not enough bloggers… But our audiences hair color isn’t as blue as it sounds in K’ville. Actually, our average audience age is well below the national average!
Glad you liked the Copland. I knew you would! Did you like Short Ride?
September 29th, 2007 at 1:03 am
Awesome review Tish! I’ve got to agree with you about bloggers being exceptionally nice folks. Good round up of the KSO bloggers also!
September 29th, 2007 at 10:00 am
It sounds like all had fun. Great review!
September 29th, 2007 at 2:00 pm
Looked like fun. I really wanted to go, and even e-mailed, but couldn’t find a way to make my job work around my schedule. Quite a bummer, it looks like.
September 30th, 2007 at 12:39 am
Sounds like a great night! I’ve always wanted to go to the symphony, but hubby’s not really the type. I’d love to see the inside of the Tennessee Theatre now, too. I’ll bet that was beautiful.
September 30th, 2007 at 2:23 am
You’ve been tagged, BTW…
September 30th, 2007 at 11:34 am
I love the symphony. If it didn’t cost my entire paycheck to attend the new symphony here I’d go. Not sure if they will do a free blogger night but I’ll keep my eye open. Glad you had so much fun!
September 30th, 2007 at 3:38 pm
Hi Tish!
You kept your promise and told us about the bloggers night out :): thanks for sharing!
It seems like you had fun! This means that you had already met with some of the blogger that visit you before, huh? Wow…and they are all from Tennesse?
Cheers
October 1st, 2007 at 11:41 am
Well, as long as you didn’t put a Pez dispenser on someone’s leg, causing them to laugh and disrupt the performance, it should be OK…
October 1st, 2007 at 12:56 pm
Hi Tish, you have been tagged by Santa’s Community Blog in a Collective Christmas Meme. Hope you can find a way to participate!
-Jos:)
http://santasmailbox.blogspot.com/2007/10/santas-community-christmas-meme.html
October 1st, 2007 at 2:09 pm
Its good to expirence new things!
October 1st, 2007 at 8:06 pm
Os - I liked Short Ride, but not nearly as much as the more traditional stuff. Next time you’re in TN, you should check out the KSO!
Byron - Thanks! It was nice meeting you!
Jack - Thanks! And thanks for linking me on Knox News!
Tommy - Hopefully next time! Speaking of that, blogfest is coming up soon. I’ll let you know the details.
Geneva - The Tennessee Theatre is absolutely amazing!! I need to go take photos of it sometime.
Tommy - Thanks for the tag!
Flat Coke - Thanks! You’ll love it, I’m sure. You should suggest that they do a free blogger night! Send them a link to my post so they can see how much buzz the KSO got from the bloggers! Maybe they will follow suit.
Max - Thanks for the nice comment! And yes, Knoxville has a large blogging community. They are the nicest people! I’ve met some bloggers from out of state as well. Osbasso lives in Montana!
Michael - Mmm…Pez…
Jos - Thanks. I’ll go check it out!
Cas - Thanks! It certainly is!
October 2nd, 2007 at 2:41 pm
Wow! That sounds wonderful. No one in my town even knows what a blogger is, but they do have a chicken wing night for bikers. Hmmm…lol.
October 2nd, 2007 at 3:31 pm
Hats off to the Symphony for a very creative promotion. Wish more businesses/events would do this. Why? Because I love free stuff and especially free tickets! Bravo Knoxville symphony.
October 2nd, 2007 at 9:27 pm
Mum used to play in the symphony! Had a big long skirt and everything….She loved playing, but I won’t let her get that flute out anymore, makes me howl real loud!
June 26th, 2008 at 8:08 am
Tish,
Another opportunity for bloggers?
Details:
http://www.frankmurphy.com/2008/06/spelunkadunk.html
Frank