Symphony Update

It is astonishing to me that in a sleepy little sometimes backwards berg like Spokaloo, Warshington, we have an orchestra of the caliber of the Spokane Symphony. The performance we saw this afternoon was fabulous. One piece in particular was a Duke Ellington tune that they played in the first half of the show that was magnificent. It was great to hear a really off beat jazz number performed by an entire orchestra. You could tell that they were really enjoying playing it. The central piece they played was a commissioned symphony called "Letters from Lincoln". It was commissioned by the symphony to help commemorate Abraham Lincoln's Bi-Centennial. The lyrics used in the tunes were from actual Lincoln writings. Thomas Hampson, a rather highly regarded Baritone in the Opera world and local boy sang as the symphony debuted the piece. I snapped the above bootlegged picture at the end of the performance. Standing in front are the composer, the aforementioned baritone and the conductor. It was a great way to spend a Sunday.

Susan and I went out for dinner afterwards and made it home in time to lay about and watch some TV.