Now
that I’ve sappily snapped photos of the Hilbert Circle Theatre
marquee, the Symphony Centre entrance, the Marketing and
Communications Department sign, and my desk…I feel it is time to
pen one final blog post.
As this is my last day at the ISO, my sentimental mood has led me
to reflect back on the amazing opportunities this internship has
afforded me – meeting and interacting with a group of wonderful
co-workers, taking private lessons from the ISO’s principal
clarinetist, hearing some of my...
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...
Since purchasing discount Yuletide tickets through Franklin College
in the middle 90s, I have made it a tradition to attend Yuletide to
get into the Christmas spirit. It is always such a wonderful show.
Of course, as soon as my daughter was old enough, I had to share
Yuletide with her. In 2007, she was four at Christmastime. It had
been a particularly difficult year for our family, including my
father's death. The holidays were going to be hard for us. A friend
who new how much I have always...Read More »
More than 15 years ago, my family attended our first Yuletide
Celebration. The family included my mother, sister, her three young
children and myself. We did not have much money, however, we bought
holiday attire and were enchanted by the entire show. The children
are now in their 20's and we are once again attending this year.
The ISO has become a part of our family tradition and I still can
see the joy on the faces of my neice and nephews that I saw that
first night. They still have their...Read More »
The first orchestral piece with which I truly fell in love was a Richard Strauss tone poem.
While I have studied clarinet for over 10 years and have always relished the passion and power of orchestral music, it was not until my youth orchestra performed Strauss’s “Don Juan” in May 2009 that I realized just how obsessed I could become with particular pieces.
It was during our first rehearsal of “Don Juan” that I realized the magic of a tone poem. (Just a note: a tone poem is an orchestral work...
Read More »
In
an effort to avoid a reputation as the intern who
creepily writes about composers' graves, I will refrain from
discussing what a transcendent experience I had visiting the
resting place of Johannes Brahms at the Zentralfriedhof ("Central
Cemetery") in Vienna. I will simply post a picture
instead (see left). In my excitement about the Indianapolis
Symphony Orchestra's performance of Brahms' Third Symphony
this weekend, I will however write a bit about the
fascinating man that was Johannes...I bet you have a friend or relative who likes to forward funny
emails. You know, the ones that say "Funniest Church Signs,"
"10 Things Never to Say to Women," (I can think of more than 10),
"Priceless Wedding Invitation from Mother of the Groom," or
"Awkward Family Photos."
Don't tell my mother-in-law (because she's the sender!), but I usually disregard or delete most of these emails; however, the Awkward Family Photos website is a must. I picked a few of my holiday-themed favorites below.
Don't tell my mother-in-law (because she's the sender!), but I usually disregard or delete most of these emails; however, the Awkward Family Photos website is a must. I picked a few of my holiday-themed favorites below.
The...
Read More »
Hello,
again!As I revealed in my last blog post, I absolutely love Mahler's First Symphony and cannot wait to hear the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra perform it this weekend! Although I am always intrigued by the soft opening chords, haunted by the funeral march, and excited by the rousing ending, what makes Mahler 1 so fascinating to me is the way in which Mahler incorporates various melodies and motifs from several different works to create a coherent symphony. While I once found Mahler 1...
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...Read More »
I purchased a new toy for myself last spring: a fancy-schmancy
Nikon 3100 digital camera (it also takes video, although I'm not
interested in reading that page yet in the handbook. One thing at a
time for this beginner).
I don't want to be a professional photographer or even an amateur
for that matter. I just want to play one on TV.
So this season, I put myself to work at several Marsh Symphony on the Prairie performances to capture a bit of the audience, the environment, the entertainers and...Read More »
So this season, I put myself to work at several Marsh Symphony on the Prairie performances to capture a bit of the audience, the environment, the entertainers and...Read More »
After graduating from DePauw University in May 2009, two of my
friends and I stayed at our alma mater working various jobs, trying
to fend off real life just that much longer. The economy was
uncertain, and our futures looked like they might be bleak for a
while. We enjoyed spending time together, but our worries about the
new chapters of our lives made it hard for us to live in any given
moment. Every time I smiled, I felt like I had a hornet’s nest in
my throat. Misery was spreading around the...Read More »
I was running with complete focus, I was running at a faster pace
than in any race I had run before, and I was...twisting my ankle?!
When my dad and I decided to run the ISO's Circle the City race
last year, that was certainly not the ending we had imagined! While
I had pictured racing to the end, my reality was walking across the
line, upset that my injury had ruined the race for both my running
partner and me.
As we drove home, looking at my race number, I saw that attached to it was admission...Read More »
As we drove home, looking at my race number, I saw that attached to it was admission...Read More »
The
title says it all. Making music and changing lives is what the
Indy Symphony does. And now, you have a very special chance to
help us change the lives of deserving children.On April 15, the Indianapolis Symphony and the Columbia Club will host "Making Music Changing Lives," a fundraising event for the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra (MYO), and we would love for you to join us!
MYO is an amazing program sponsored by the ISO's Learning Community that provides individual and chamber music lessons...Read More »
For the next Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra Symphonic
Hits Concerts (April
1 and 2 at 7:30), we welcome up-and-coming British conductor
Michael Francis, who was brought on board just a couple weeks ago,
replacing Mark Wigglesworth who is expecting a child back in
England. Michael Francis has made quite a reputation stepping
in at the last minute. In fact he launched his conducting
career in 2006 by stepping out of the bass section of the London
Symphony and into a rehearsal of Shostakovich's...Read More »
On
Feb. 27, Dan Kamin will bring side-splitting, family-friendly
comedy to Hilbert Circle Theatre--without saying a word. In a
performance of
"The Classical Clown" with the ISO and
conductor David Glover, Kamin will play a mischievous clown who
battles the conductor for control of the orchestra. His masterful
physical comedy is sure to delight everyone from toddlers to their
grandparents.
Kamin's comedy resume is impressive--he trained Johnny Depp and
Robert Downey, Jr. for their acclaimed...
Wow.
I cannot believe that I've been the communications intern at the
ISO for three
weeks now! It has been a great experience so far and I'm sure it
will only continue to get better.
To commemorate my first three weeks at the ISO, I'm sharing "Three
in Three," three things I've learned about the symphony in my first
three weeks--and three things that you should know, too!
1. The ISO's music is truly phenomenal.
I must ashamedly admit that I had never been to an
ISO performance before starting my...
Wow.
We received 49 blog entries for the Indianapolis Symphony
Orchestra's first Yuletide Celebration “Share Your
Favorite Yuletide Memory” contest! When the contest closed on
Friday, Dec. 3 at 5 p.m., I admit, I dreaded picking the
winner.
These 49 submissions are heart-felt stories of family traditions,
holiday cheer, inspiration, humor, generosity, loss, hope, love and
musical memories. The contest had no parameters or criteria;
and I wouldn’t have it any other way. We chose the...
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...Read More »
It's only fitting that the ISO Yuletide concert was born in the
same year as our oldest daughter. It was four or five years later
that we took Charnee to her first Yuletide Celebration where she
was awestruck by the performance of "The Littlest Angel".
Everything about the concert was magical, and since then both of
our daughters look forward to "'Twas the Night Before Christmas"
and those impressive reindeer and trusted pupateers. But that
cherubic voice of the young "angel" inspired our...Read More »
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...Read More »
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