The orchestra warms up
On the weekend, RailGuy and I went out for dinner and an evening at the symphony. It was our first opportunity to see our daughter Fiddlegirl playing. She tried out for a place with the orchestra last year, but circumstances and distance have conspired to prevent us from making it to a performance until now. As the weather has been unseasonably mild, with no sign of early winter snow, we decided last Saturday would be a perfect night to make the 3 hour drive.
Hot Belly Mama's
As Fiddlegirl had an afternoon dress rehearsal, we met her and her beau at the concert hall afterwards and walked to a cute little place just down the street for supper. The restaurant has a New Orleans theme and features Cajun food. It was a nice spot to catch up over dinner. After post-dinner coffee and dessert at another little cafe, we headed back to the theatre.
Fiddlegirl arrives at the concert hall
Fiddlegirl took up the violin at the age of nine. This is late in the world of violin lessons, where three year olds are practicing goodie-goodie-stop-stop and working their way through Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. However, Fiddlegirl quickly made up for lost time and zoomed through the introductory levels. She seemed to have a little gift for music and the violin. Only rarely can a pupil climb through the grades with as little practice as Fiddlegirl could get away with! But climb she did. In the midst of her high school years, many other activities competed with violin lessons for attention. At university, she set her violin aside as she pursued studies in chemistry. Now that graduation is behind her and she is settled into a career, Fiddlegirl decided to dust off her violin.
Fiddlegirl and friend Mike at intermission
For this performance, the orchestra played Maurice Ravel’s Le tombeau de Couperin and joined the guest pianist in Frederic Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor, followed by Mozart’s Symphony No. 40, G minor, K550 after the intermission. For me, it didn’t matter what the orchestra performed. Watching Fiddlegirl play with the orchestra, my heart sang its own song of joy.
The orchestra ready to perform
Willow House Chronicles 