Blogger night at San Francisco Symphony

On Wednesday night, July 18th the San Francisco Symphony invited a group of bloggers to attend a very special performance of their "Summer in the City" series. Kevin Smokler was responsible for organizing the event, and I applaud the Symphony for finding new ways to reach out to audiences that may not be aware of what the symphony does, and having the savvy to connect with online communities.

As I see it, there are so many overlaps between audiences- people who are very active online and actively utilize social networking sites, often are also people who listen to and purchase copious amounts of music including live music shows ( South By Southwest is a perfect example of where those worlds physically intersect).

I've always been a lover of classical music; I grew up surrounded by it, raised by parents who frequently took me to opera, symphony, and ballet performances and were always listening to it at home. As a musician throughout my schooling and then as a singer, I've always had an ingrained passion for all forms of music and a heightened appreciation for live performance. For me, going to the symphony or the opera is as natural and as enjoyable as going to see my favorite bands play live. I know this isn't always the case for many of my peers, so during the performance, I kept thinking to myself, "what could I say to the live music lovers, the people with hundreds of gigabytes of music on their computers- how could I convince those who think of classical music as too stodgy, too uptight, too staid or boring for their tastes, that symphony performances are actually a peak experience for music lovers of any stripe?" During the Q&A afterwards, someone asked a question to this effect and James Gaffigan answered that ..."it's about getting people here, it's beautiful music; people are intimidated, they think they have to wear a tuxedo, or are afraid to do the wrong thing at the wrong time, and that's just silly, it's simply not true.  There are plenty of young people here. Come once- you'll be addicted!"

For me, the answer came over and over again, throughout each and every flawless rendition of some timeless, dramatic pieces. During Tchaikovsky's "Romeo and Juliet," as I heard the refrain so familiar to everyone as the soundtrack of countless cheesy romance movies, I nevertheless was compelled by the fresh, emotive version the symphony played that night. Just as in live rock music, each performance of a symphonic piece is different, changed by the musicians, the conductor, the acoustics and a myriad of other factors.   One of the exciting things about going to the symphony is this opportunity to hear a new rendition, a fresh interpretation of a well-known piece or a piece that you particularly love.

The highlight for me was the performance of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Opus 30.   The pianist - 23 year old Gabriela Martinez,  is a Venezuelan virtuoso. I think one of the bloggers said it best during the Q&A afterwards, that this was "the most caring Rach 3 I have ever heard."   It was riveting to witness the interplay between James Gaffigan (conductor), she and the symphony; each had so much passion and emotion literally pouring into their music that it was visible on all of their faces and in their interactions with each other during the piece. I felt even more grateful to be in our prime third row seats at this point, able to see up close each and every expression and movement Gabriela made. It seemed as though she was channeling some divine or inspired energy; she moved her whole body into her playing and just completely blew me away with her dexterity, endurance and virtuosity. She said it only took her 2 months to learn it completely by heart; I couldn't believe she had memorized such a complex piece.  I was moved to tears a number of times over the course of the evening, especially during the piano concerto. The whole performance just sucked me in and took me along with it so powerfully that I couldn't help but be so moved!
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We are so fortunate to live in San Francisco, and have so many incredible, world class performing arts at our fingertips. The San Francisco Symphony is, in my own humble opinion, one of the best you will ever see anywhere; I've seen symphonies perform from all over the world, and the truth is that I still feel the same way. I sometimes forget that we have this treasure right in our backyard, but this evening re-inspired me to keep going more regularly and bring more symphony virgins along with me.