Dvorak's New World Symphony

I spent a lovely evening at Abravanel Hall last night listening to the Utah Symphony.  I selected this particular concert for Dvorak's Symphony No. 9 because I really love it but, as is often the case, I also enjoyed the other selections on the program immensely.  The orchestra began with Haydn's Symphony No. 9 and I thought it was incredibly beautiful and stirring.  I especially loved the theme played by the solo oboe and I also loved the theme played by a solo violin and solo cello.  Next the orchestra played Symphony No. 1 by Charles Ives.  I was particularly struck by the opening notes, which were almost unobtrusive.  I found this piece to be very moving and there were several times when I closed my eyes and let the music wash over me.  After the intermission the orchestra played Dvorak's New World Symphony (as it is known).  There are a handful of pieces that I recognize by name and always try to see when performed (Mozart's Requiem, Pictures at an Exhibition by Mussorgsky,  Symphonie fantastique by Berlioz, and Bolero by Ravel, to name a few) and this is near the top of that list.  I have been looking forward to this performance for weeks and I was not disappointed.  There are many things that I love about this piece, but the themes played and then echoed between the various sections of the orchestra are so dramatic!  It was performed brilliantly with an enthusiastic standing ovation at its conclusion.  The same concert will be performed tonight (tickets may be purchased here) and I recommend it highly!

Note:  I have always been a fan of Thierry Fischer (especially after I saw him at a Jazz game with his two sons).  Last night I sat a little closer to the stage than I usually do and it was fun to watch him in action!

The Glass Menagerie at PTC

PTC's production of The Glass Menagerie, Tennessee Williams' classic play about nostalgia, is closing very soon and, as I have been very busy the past few weeks, I thought about skipping it.  I have read and seen this play performed countless times and, frankly, I sometimes find it to be very grim so I didn't feel any urgency.  However, I decided at the last minute to see it last night and I am very glad that I did because I was quite impressed.  The play is narrated by Tom Wingfield (Zachary Prince), a writer reminiscing about his memories of his mother and sister and their dreary existence in St. Louis during the 1930s.   He longs to escape their suffocating apartment and substitutes movies for the adventure he craves.  Amanda Wingfield (Nance Williamson) lives in the past, regaling her children with stories of the southern gentility she experienced growing up on a plantation and of her many "Gentlemen Callers."  Laura Wingfield (Hanley Smith) is crippled and is so shy that she prefers to retreat into the world of her glass animals.  None of them can face the harsh reality of their lives, which is momentarily brightened by the prospect of a "Gentleman Caller" for Laura (Logan James Hall).  This play is very character driven and a good production relies on its cast to give engaging performances.  Prince, Williamson, Smith, and Hall do that and more.  Williamson, especially, commands attention as the overbearing Amanda and I found her interpretation to be quite humorous at times (I don't remember ever laughing at any of the other productions I've seen).  I really liked the set, particularly the the portrait of Amanda's husband which dominates the space.  I also really liked the use of light, which I found to be highly effective at conveying different moods throughout the play.  I definitely recommend this production but, unfortunately, it it closing tomorrow;  however, there are still a few performances left so act quickly and go here for tickets.

Halloween 2016

Halloween was a little bit quiet this year.  I went over to my parents' house for chili (which we have had on Halloween ever since I was a little girl) and passed out candy to the trick-or-treaters, including the cutest creeper (from the minecraft game) ever.  We didn't carve pumpkins this year because Marilyn and I didn't get our act together in time to buy them and we decided not to go to a movie (which we have done on Halloween for the past three years) because we were both too tired!  It was still a nice evening with my family and Sean got over not carving pumpkins when he was able to go out trick-or-treating with his friends "unsupervised."  He had the time of his life!

Sweet Sixteen!

Tashena turned sixteen last Friday and we had our family celebration on Sunday.  The birthday boy or girl gets to pick the dinner menu and Tashena opted for Cafe Rio.  We all thought that was a great choice!  Then she opened her presents.

Her Grandma and Grandpa gave her lots of clothes (which is what she always asks for).  My Mom was so excited to give Tashena her present that she wanted to go first!

She wanted dresses!

Sean was just as excited as my Mom to give Tashena her present!

He picked out the nail polish, remover, and emery board all by himself (one of the polish colors is camo glitter).  It was kind of adorable!

Tashena always wants clothes but I am really nervous about picking things out for her so I got her a big gift card to Old Navy.

I put the gift card in this giant bag with ten sheets of tissue paper.  When she removed all of the tissue paper, she couldn't see it.  She legitimately thought that I didn't give her anything and said, "It's the thought that counts."  We laughed and laughed and I had her look a little harder!

Marilyn gave her a really cute outfit and more nail polish.

Then we had the traditional Baskin Robbins ice cream cake.  I hope you had a great birthday Tashena!

A Great Season

The Bountiful Braves made it to the playoffs but they had to face a really tough team from Grantsville.  The Cowboys scored four times in the first half and the Braves were feeling really dejected but they regrouped after halftime to score and ruin the shutout that Granstville was hoping for!  Even though they lost this game, I am so proud of Sean and the rest of the team.  It has been so much fun to watch them every week.  It will be weird to sleep in on Saturday mornings again!

Sean with one of the coaches.  He told us how much he loved Sean and how much he has improved over the season.

Sean with the head coach.

I'm so proud of this kid!

Note:  Sean told us that he will miss football but he's looking forward to staying up later on Friday nights!