Thursday, September 24, 2009

Cultured....sorta.

Our homeschoolers went to Orlando to get cultured this week. Grandparents can give a sigh of relief now that they know Sumter county kids do get exposed to more than roadkill, boiled peanuts and a wad of chew. Seriously, it was a fine day. The Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra each year does a Youth concert for minimal cost and it is pure artistry.

The kids went on a walk with nature through music. Some of the highlights were seeing the ballerinas from the Orlando Ballet Company dance to a song from Swan Lake. Another was the ladies singing opera and in French. We were glad it was translated on the big screen. Did you know jasmine is pronounced jasmine in French? Hmm...now you are cultured too.

One of the songs, a favorite of the kids was "On the trail from the Grand Canyon"...they liked the hee-haw of the donkey and the clippidyee clop of the shoes too. The master violinist was amazing. We really enjoyed the song of the Elephant's waltz on the large bass....it was so low and deep. The selection from Holst, about the planets and stars was amazing. It was very familiar, I even commented that it reminded me of a Star War's type piece. Steve agreed. Yep, he got to go on this field trip with us....a happy dad was he.

Great group of kids!
This was the second show, and the house was full!
We missed seeing the percussionist at work, but the orchestra was completely awesome.
So, they took a bow. The conductor is bowing, he was so genuine at drawing the kids into the selections. Hats off to him.
Pretty girls. Alma arrived later, (after this pic) and had tissue for anyone in the closest three rows that might need some, it was a large roll of toilet paper!!! During the concert she whipped it out and started unrolling it....a couple mom's almost lost it, they were giggling so hard. What a fun memory!
All this serious good mannered-ness needed a little bit of silly!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Ms. Porvaznik,
Your email regarding yesterday’s Young People’s Concert was just forwarded to me and I want you to know how it just made my day! I care so deeply about providing children with these wonderful educational opportunities and it just brought me to tears to see the pictures on your blog and to read about your concert experience.

Thank you so much for sharing that and I look forward to seeing you again next year at the Young People’s Concerts!

Vicki Sprysenski
Special Events & Fundraising, Florida Symphony Youth Orchestra
Education Coordinator, Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra

Janet said...

rGreat post Jill! Avery and I sooooo loved the concert!! Her favorite was the opera and she actually fell asleep to the CD of songs from the concert last night. Love that the Education Coordinator read your blog, too!! The "Alma & TP" moment was priceless and brought me to tears. I wonder what else she had in that backpack??!!!

Anonymous said...

Good Morning!
I'm Mary Palmer, a member of the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra Board and Chair of the Education Committee. You really made the experience come alive! You are doing a great job of home schooling your children... what fun they are having with learning! Congratulations!

I am going to forward your blog site to Scott Evans, Director of the Orange County Arts Education Center and Chair of Advocacy for the Florida Alliance for Arts Education. I am thinking that you may want to get involved with that organization.

All the best to you as you continue this important journey of education for your lucky daughters!

Jeanne said...

Wow Jill! I'm seriously impressed! :)