An Evening With the London Philharmonia
If you've met me after high school, you might not know that I studied classical piano for almost 15 years. I had the change to perform at Carnegie Hall in New York City as part of the American Fine Arts Festival competition, where at age 16, I was the oldest performer. I was surrounded by 8-12 year old prodigies, and yes, it was very intimidating and lining up behind them waiting to perform was probably the most nervous I've ever been in my whole life.
Even thinking back on how nervous performances made me, I really miss piano! Since going to college, I haven't had the chance to keep up with it, and that makes me kind of sad. But I try to keep my interest with classical music up, even if it just means listening to it here and there, usually when I'm cramming work! Despite playing piano my whole life, I had actually never seen an orchestra perform a symphony. My boyfriend Liam took me to see the NY Philharmonic play in Van Cortlandt Park in Bronx, NY, which was amazing. We got to lay down on the grass as the sun set, listening to them play. But even that wasn't a true orchestra concert as everyone was talking and kids were running around screaming.
On Feb 1, I got to see the Philharmonia orchestra perform Dvorak at the Royal Festival Hall in London. One word: amazing. While I sat in the Choir section, which meant I was above and behind the orchestra, it was still a great view because I felt as if I was in the back of the orchestra, watching everyone play their instruments from behind and turn their page. I could see their sheet music, not the exact notes of course but scribbles on a page. It was dead quiet for the 30 or 40 minutes of each piece, after which the audience was burst into loud applause and a storm of coughs arose.
What was interesting was that after each piece, the conductor would walk off stage into a back room and back onstage several times (sometimes the soloists would too) all while the audience would continuously clap through. My hands started to tire after clapping for up to five minutes straight after each piece. I had never heard or seen this and found it extremely interesting.
Watching the individual musicians play their instruments, completely lost in the music, sitting among strangers who all appreciated the music we were listening to was a moment I will always hold onto! Many thanks to Cornell-Brown-Penn UK Study Centre for the free ticket! If you enjoy classical music at all, GO SEE A PERFORMANCE. You will not regret it.
