Me and my friend Gwen at the ISO in October!
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from my transition to downtown
Indy from the hills of rural New Hampshire, it’s that city living
is alarmingly pricey. Marsh groceries,
City Market lunches and (a few too many) trips to the Fashion Mall
add up at an alarming rate, leaving scant any funds for
recreational pursuits. However, while swanky clubs and fancy
restaurants might be out of the monetary question, the Indianapolis
Symphony Orchestra has taken...
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This morning, my boss Jessica gave
me the keys to the ISO’s archive room and told me to “have at it.”
As I stepped into the tiny room tucked away in the middle of the
Marketing and Communications floor and caught a glimpse of the
treasure trove of old ISO photographs, music scores and random
artifacts – including a cornet with the baseball stuffed in the
bell about which I am quite curious and thus plan to explore in a
future blog post – my history-dork senses were awakened.
As a lifelong...
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Hello, everyone!
My name is Shannon Draucker, and I'm the new Communications Intern
for the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. I am so excited to be
here - meeting great people, listening to wonderful music, and
learning a lot about the organization!
After I was hired, I immediately visited the ISO's website to
peruse the program for this season. When I saw that the ISO,
joined by the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir and Children's Choir,
would be performing Carl Orff's masterwork
Carmina Burana,
I...
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It all started August 8, 2009 while watching the "Mozart in
Moonlight" of the Marsh
Symphony on the Prairie concert
series. I was by myself watching the concert that night because all
the friends I invited to watch this concert were either at work or
had other plans or plain not interested with classical music at
all. I was at that time enjoying my independence at 33 years of
age, single and unattached, living at my very own apartment and
simply enriching my life. Then there was this gentleman...
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The
final
Symphonic Hits of the season is upon us, and in fact, it's
the final week of the Indianapolis Symphony Orcehstra's Classical
Season. Next week, summer officially begins with the
Indianapolis Symphony's move out to the
Prairie. For this last concert, we're hearing Beethoven's
final two symphonies led by Music Director Emmeritus, Raymond
Leppard.
These two works are as different as they could be. The 8th
Symphony is bubbly and delightful (it even lacks a slow movement),
and imitates...
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"Give it more vowel," Assistant Artistic Director Michael Davis
implores the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir. "A little longer -
really full," he coaxes. "Keep everything going."
This past Tuesday I found the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir hard at
work, preparing for next week's Indianapolis Symphony
Orchestra performances of
Beethoven's Symphony No. 9. Watching them, I was
struck by how much time and effort goes into preparing for a work
as grand as this one.
The work starts weeks, months,...
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I'm gladly turning over my blog to our very own Principal Viola
Michael Isaac Strauss, who performs as soloist this
weekend alongside ISO Concertmaster Zach De Pue. Mike and Zach will
be playing Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Viola and
Orchestra. This will be the first time the pair has played
this piece together.
The Sinfonia Concertante for Violin,
Viola and Orchestra in E-flat major, K. 364 (320d), is a work
that is dear to my heart. I have played the work with over half a
dozen...
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It's
finally here!
The
2011-2012 season has arrived and it is filled with concerts
that will arouse great memories, take you on a tour of the world
and challenge the musicians to perform at their highest level. Live
music in Indianapolis seems to get better with every season at the
Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra!
Three concerts have me particularly excited!
Urbanski Conducts Smetana, March 29-31, will be
Bohemian perfection. I was fascinated to learn that Smetana
composed most of this...
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Today was a good day.
It has been said that the most challenging part of the classical
music business these days is trying to bring in new, excited people
to build the next generation of concert goers in order to help
sustain the future of our art form. And in a world of endless
entertainment choices just a mouse or remote control click away,
its no wonder that we have to work harder to make sure the beauty
and power of classical music is available to everyone that wants
it.
So I thought to...
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My fondest memory of the Yuletide celebration is the fact that my
mom's side of the family.. 15 people.. came together every year for
7 years to attend. We would get all dressed up and drive downtown
together. The Christmas Carol was always our favorite act and my
cousins and I always anticipated the intermission when grandma
would buy us a holiday cookie and drink in the lobby. We would
always eat Santa's hat first and then joke as we made him look like
a pirate after one eye went missing....
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I am sixteen years old and have gone to every Yuletide with my
aunt, mom, and sister since I was two years old, so it has sort of
become a family tradition. Every year I look forward to seeing who
is going to host Yuletide and what special performances they will
have. There have been some pretty amazing hosts and performances
over the years, from the classic tap dancing Santas and The Night
Before Christmas to once in a life time experiences like the
African Children’s Choir. As soon as you walk...
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We were taking our places in the first few seats of Row N when an
argument ensued. As is customary for us, I had gone in first,
sitting in the seat next to “the stranger.” My teenage son Parker
had halted in the aisle, making way for his brother Mason to take
the seat beside me. Mason held back and waved Parker in ahead of
him. Parker refused. “I’m not sitting next to her,” he said,
looking at me with feigned disgust. “Oh, yes, you are,” Mason
stated emphatically. “No way,” Parker asserted. “I...
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My husband and I have attended the Coffee Pops Concert Series since
before he retired in 1991. In 2000, Yuletide Celebration was a part
of the Pops Series and I was really looking forward, as always, to
the event. Unfortunately that week, our daughter-in-law's
grandfather died and his funeral was the day of the concert. We
offered to keep both grandsons that day while she and our son
traveled to northern Indiana to be with her family. But what to do
about our Yuletide tickets! After talking it...
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When I think back on past Holiday seasons, the Yuletide Celebration
always holds priority in my rolodex of memories. I'm 26 years old
now and still remember, vividly, my visits to the Yuletide
Celebration as a little girl. The giddiness covered over me as my
family filed through the doors of the Hilbert Circle Theater. Out
of the crisp December air and away from the streets where horse's
hooves could be heard trotting around Monument Circle. Colorful
hues of light radiated from the top of the...
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In December 1997, I was halfway through my sophomore year at
Butler. I had just started taking harp lessons in January, and my
harp teacher, Diane Evans, was the principal harpist with ISO. She
knew how much I loved musicals and pops concerts, so she told me in
November that I absolutely must check out Yuletide at the Symphony.
I balked. First of all, tickets were almost $20 at the time, and as
a broke college student, that sounded ridiculous. I didn't know
anything about the show, and I wasn't...
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My story is the experience the Yuletide Celebration has for our
family. We have 4 children from 22 to 11. The night we dress up and
come downtown, eat out downtown and experience Yuletide together is
one I will always treasure. My kids know we can't afford it and
know we have made sacrifices to take the whole family. They feel
the Christmas spirit throughout the whole evening. It's as if time
stands still during the rendition of the Night Before
Christmas. Thanks for providing such an...
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When our daughters we little, 5, 8,and 11 ( they are now 25, 28,
and 31) my husband got tickets through his work and we went to our
first Yuletide event. The girls and I got all dressed up and we
"encouraged" him to as well. hehe. We drove downtown and we were
just mesmerized by what we saw. The girls started asking the next
year about the first of november are we going to the Yuletide
daddy? So for many years that was our annual event for the
holidays. The girls would love getting dressed up...
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My fondest memory of Yuletide is going as a whole family last year
in 2009. My husband and I had gone to see the Yuletide show several
years back and I cried most of the way through the show, thinking
how I would love to be able to come back one day and bring the
whole family. We have three boys and they all love music and
dancing, but especially our youngest. The problem is that our
youngest son has autism. Being in a public place with a lot of
people and crowd noise is very troubling to him....
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