Posts Tagged ‘symphony’

The Nutcracker: First Time for Kids

Wednesday, December 7th, 2011

the-nutcrackerThis year my husband and I took our children to see “The Nutcracker” for the first time. The children were familiar with Tchaikovsky, having listened to his music since they were infants. The dancing, twirling ballerinas were mesmerizing for the children to watch.

When we arrived at the theater, we walked far up the balcony and off to the side. That’s what I get for booking the tickets two days before the show. On the website, you could check a box that said you were willing to have an obstructed view. Ummmm… really? Right, that’s what I want when I go to the theater, to have an obstructed view. Why do they even make seats with an obstructed view?? Before sitting down in the theater, I tried to see where the seats with the “obstructed view” were, and my husband said that you had to look through plexiglass at the show.

Even though I hadn’t checked the box “Obstructed view,” unfortunately I had checked the box “Find best price,” which translated means “the worst seats where you will definitely need binoculars.” That is where we found ourselves. Yes, the mice that were dancing around on stage looked like monsters from where I was sitting. Maybe my eyes are going bad…

My musical son had such a beautiful expression on his face as he watched the show. A lovely, tranquil smile could be seen through the glow of the theatrical lights. I could have sat there staring at my son’s expression the whole night.

When the Nutcracker danced with the girl, it was lovely. I prefer dancing between a man and a woman rather than lots of women in stiff tutus. I leaned over to my husband and said, “You probably just see this whole thing as girls dancing around in tutus.” “Pretty much,” he said, laughing.

Later on in the show, I saw my husband laughing to himself, and I said, “What?” He answered, “I always think of pink hippos dancing whenever I hear this song.” “What, from ‘Fantasia?’” “Yeah.”

If you are going to take your kids to the symphony, this is a great way to do it. During most symphony performances, all you have to look at is the musicians. This has the musicians and twirling dancers, with some of the most famous music in the world. I highly recommend going. But book the seats far ahead of time, and bring binoculars just in case…

Bugs Bunny Symphony

Tuesday, November 2nd, 2010

Bugs-Bunny-symphonyThis last weekend my husband and I decided to take our family to the Bugs Bunny symphony. We had never taken our children to the symphony, even though we had studied the different instruments of the symphony when they were younger. We had also gone to a free symphony in the park, which included fireworks. Anyway, when my husband and I saw that the symphony was going to be playing classical music from the Bugs Bunny cartoons, well, we just had to go. Our whole family loves Looney Tunes.

We got the kids dressed up, and we arrived at the theater where the symphony would be performing. Little did we know that there was going to be a screen with Bugs Bunny cartoons, backed up by the real symphony! It was so funny to see Bugs Bunny directing. The real director, as well as Bugs Bunny, both bowed to the audience, and the real symphony seemed to be led by Bugs Bunny himself! What a hoot! I glanced over to my husband, and we grinned at each other. I was glad we had brought Rachel. She’s 5 years old, and we’ve taken her to see a play before, but she gets antsy to sit for so long. If I had known that the show would include Bugs Bunny cartoons throughout the entire show, I wouldn’t have hesitated to bring her.

Chuck Jones (the director of the Bugs Bunny cartoons) was actually born iBugs-Bunny-symphony-2n Spokane, Washington, right here where I live. Another interesting fact was that the antique theater where we were sitting used to be a movie theater with an orchestra. Yes, people who paid a dime to go to the movies saw a 5 minute newsreel, a Bugs Bunny cartoon, and a double feature, backed up by a live symphony. We sat in the very room where people nearly 70 years ago watched something similar to what we were watching.

My whole family enjoyed the show, and I was only sad that I hadn’t thought of bringing my dad. He is a big Looney Tunes fan, and to hear a real symphony performing all those classical songs would have caused him to chuckle. “The Barber of Seville” was sooooooo funny, as well as the “Kill the Rabbit with my Shield and Magic Helmet” (or whatever that is called). Those were two of my favorite Bugs Bunny cartoons of all time. The grins on my children’s faces were priceless, and I’m sure that because of this show, they will probably love classical music for the rest of their lives.

Outdoor Symphony

Thursday, August 5th, 2010

outdoor-symphony

Every summer most major cities have a symphony in the park. This outdoor symphony is a fun and inexpensive opportunity for your children to listen to live classical music. If you take your children to a paid symphony in a building, they will have to sit perfectly still and be completely silent. On the other hand, if you are at an outdoor symphony, birds are chirping, a car goes by, and an airplane zooms across the sky. The music is broadcast over speakers, and it is loud enough to cover a crying baby or a child telling you he has to go to the bathroom. (There are usually port-a-potties.)

spokane-symphony

You will want to bring a picnic dinner and a blanket to sit on. Bring lots of snacks. You might bring canvas chairs, at least for the adults. We brought a wagon to put all our stuff on, including an igloo with ice in it for cold food and drinks. Some evenings can be cold, so you will need to bring a light sweatshirt for each person, too. And if it’s scorching hot, you can use the ice to cool you down.

symphony-in-the-park

During the intermission, I took a couple of my children down to look at the instruments up close. We were able to talk to some of the professional musicians. Then I went back to my husband and took the other two children down. That way all our stuff wouldn’t get stolen.

I was so proud of my children when they recognized some of the famous classical music. They mentioned the different musicians. We munched on different foods throughout the evening. It’s fun to bring your own glow sticks from the dollar store for after it gets dark. Sometimes the city will even include fireworks at the end!