Sunshine and Smiles!

On a glorious day like this, after a week of predominantly gray, wet weather, it wasn't easy to give up the afternoon for a concert -- but I'm very glad we did.

In addition to the many charms of the Mount Baker Theatre, the Whatcom Symphony Orchestra was performing several works we were eager to hear, and the guest soloist was the lauded violinist Sarah Chang, a "rock star" of the classical music world, who has legions of fans of all ages.

She was featured in an absolutely stunning new work -- an arrangement by David Newman for solo violin and orchestra of some of the best-known songs from Leonard Bernstein's 1957 music for the Broadway hit "West Side Story." I've loved that music for many years, and to hear it interpreted by such a gifted musician was a deeply moving experience. Sarah Chang also performed a briefer, lighter work -- an arrangement of the 1935 tango Por Una Cabeza ("By a Head"), heard in the films Scent of a Woman (1992) and Schindler's List (1993).

Not only did Ms. Chang grace the stage, along with the more than 80 local musicians -- volunteers all, including music teachers, active and retired professional musicians, and talented community members -- she also stayed to autograph her CDs, available for sale in the lobby, during the intermission and after the concert. I'm sure that her smile brightened many folks' day! We were delighted to see ArtistAnnie taking pictures during the intermission -- here's her entry about this event. And don't miss Phil's fine shot of Sarah Chang acknowledging the audience's applause!

The second half of the program was devoted to Dvorak's Symphony No. 9 in E Minor, op. 95 ("From the New World," 1893), which, as I mentioned in an earlier blip, was one of the first records that Phil and I, continents apart, bought in our youth, and is still music we love. As the waves of glorious sound washed over me this afternoon, I was reminded once again of the power of live music, and vowed to make concert-going a priority in my "golden years."