TSO's 2013-14 Opening Concert - Elgar Cello Concerto

Last night, Dad and I went to see the TSO's Opening concert for the 2013-14 season!
I'm so happy that they're back. I missed them over the summer.

They were conducted by Peter Oundjuan and Alisa Weilerstein was the cello soloist.

CBC Music recorded the concert for it to be broadcast on October 13, 2013 on In Concert, CBC Radio 2 (94.1 FM).

The very first thing they played was the Canadian National Anthem. It sounded wonderful. It made me proud to be Canadian.

I really loved Benjamin Britten's Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Purcell, Op 34 . (The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra). It starts so strong and it becomes so light-hearted and fun and it has a strong but playful finish! I really loved the clarinet part in this piece.


The Elgar Cello Concerto in E Minor, Op. 85 played by Alisa Weilerstein was really good. It was written at the end of the First World War. It must have been a really sad time. We've studied a little bit about the First World War but this makes me want to learn more about what was happening while he wrote it. I wonder if the performers ever end up crying when they play.


The final piece that they played was Dvořák's Symphony No. 7 in D Minor, Op. No. 70.
I love the dramatic music. We needed it to balance out the concert after the piece written in World War One.

After the concert, I got my CD signed by Alisa Weilerstein!
Here's a picture.

For more information about the TSO's concerts, here's a link to the tso's website.
www.tso.ca

The PCC Streetcar on St. Clair West

Yesterday, Dad and I went to Wychwood Barnes for the 100th anniversary of streetcars running on St. Clair West in Toronto. They had a special streetcar running on the route. They brought back a PCC (President's Conference Committee) Streetcar just for the 14 and 15th of September. 

We got it on the first run of the day.

Councillor Joe Mihevc was on the streetcar asking us questions about streetcar history and the history of St. Clair West. I answered his question about CLRVs (Canadian Light Rail Vehicles).

Here's a picture of what the PCC streetcar looks like inside.

This is a really cool picture because you can see the PCC streetcar running out on the road instead of in a museum. It's cool to ride on it in a museum like the Halton Radial Railway Museum but it's different when you get to ride it when you can really go somewhere!

Here are some of the old signs they had hanging up in Wychwood Barnes.