Happy Accidents
I took my parents to the SF Symphony today. We had a wonderful day. The weather was perfect. The program was excellent. The violin soloist was beyond outstanding. And we got two encores - one from the soloist and one from the orchestra. The tickets were my mother's Christmas present. She loves classical music but has not been to a live symphony performance in many years. My dad said it was his first ever. They both loved it.
There was a little event during the Beethoven symphony in which Thomas got so carried away with his conducting that he actually bumped the music stand for the first cellists on his right and had to reach out to stabilize it. We were sitting about 5 rows from the stage just a little to the conductor's right side as he faced the orchestra so we were able to see the exchange that followed. As he held the top of the music stand he grinned at the cellists and they grinned back - all amused about the near disaster - never (of course) missing a beat.
Somehow, it made the performance and the performers more human. I spent so much time in my formative years on stages and in concert halls performing myself. Not that I was anywhere near a professional level of proficiency, but in that moment it all came rushing back and I felt a kinship with them. It makes me grin just thinking about it.
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