TSO's "Once Upon A Time" - The Rehearsal

Today, I had an amazing time at the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

Josh from the TSO arranged for me to go to the rehearsal for the "Once Upon A Time" Young People's Concert.

The concert itself will be on Saturday, January 18th at 1:30PM and 3:30PM at Roy Thomson Hall.

It's all about Fairy Tales.

Rob Kapilow helps to tell the stories of the fairy tales by conducting the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. The dancers from New York's PickleShoes Dance Company help us get lost in the stories.

Saturday's program includes:
Prokofiev: Cinderella 
Ravel: Mother Goose Suite
Copland: "Hoe Down" from Rodeo 
Stravinsky: The Firebird Suite
Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night's Dream

I got to see Roy Thompson Hall from a different perspective from normal. Mom and I sat up in the choir loft. 

I enjoyed watching how Rob Kapilow would direct the orchestra. They all knew their parts already and they really were just focussing on dynamics and phrasing. I was impressed with the members of the orchestra being able to concentrate on the music and what he was saying even when the dancers were busy behind him.

In the first part of the rehearsal I really loved Aaron Copland's "Hoe Down". It was bright and energetic and the dancers were cowboys who at first were fighting but they became friends. It's different when we have the dancers there because we have everybody imagining the same thing together. 

In the break I got to meet with Rob Kapilow. I've met him before at his "What Makes It Great" Concerts.

We spoke about how rehearsals are different from performances. In a rehearsal you can work on corrections and make it better for the performance.

After the break, we sat in a different spot.

I really liked Felix Mendelssohn's "A Midsummer Night's Dream". The music was amazing and they did something that I never expected at all. The dancers were using glow-sticks on fishing rods. It's going to be so cool on Saturday! I'm sure of it.

Here are some more pictures from the rehearsal.
Thanks to Josh C. for letting us use some of his pictures. (You can see me and my Mom way up in the Choir loft.)

For more information about the concert you can check out the Toronto Symphony Orchestra's website:
www.tso.ca