Aesop's Fables Symphony

We didn't get home until around 11:30PM last night, so we didn't try to go to our usual 9AM mass. We went to the 11AM mass instead. We rushed home after mass so Anthony could eat and get ready for his 2PM game across town. Natalie, Eric and I planned to go to the Children's Symphony. Since Alex wanted to stay home and work on his school project that is due on Friday, we invited Natalie's best friend M to go with us. The two of them look very cute together, and Eric just loves her too. Here, Natalie is holding an egg "shaker" that Eric made. Natalie and M each made one too.

Before the show, they always have an "instrument petting zoo" where the kids can play actual instruments. Last time Natalie tried out a violin. This time they wanted to try the bass. M went first, then Natalie, so naturally Eric wanted to try it too. This was a very adorable moment, as you might imagine. They played "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star", one of the songs Eric can sing by himself. Too cute!

The theme of the show was how music can tell a story. They started out with the "Prelude to Hansel and Gretel" by Englebert Humperdinck. The conductor described how the different parts of the music represented parts of the story. The next two pieces were from "Peer Gynt" by Edvard Grieg and they were recognizable, even by Natalie's friend M. The pieces were "Morning" and "In The Hall of the Mountain King". They finished off with someone narrating three of Aesop's fables while the orchestra played. They really do a wonderful job trying to get the kids interested in classical music. In the middle, they had a 15-year girl who won the local "Young Stars" competition, play her cello with the orchestra. After the piece, she answered questions from the audience. When she said that she practices as much as four hours in a day, Natalie said emphatically, "I won't practice four hours in a day!" Oh well, I tried! ;)