Twice into LA in One Day

When we first moved to Claremont, we rarely went into downtown Los Angeles. The freeways intimidated us, we weren't exactly sure what we might want to see, and we didn't have much extra spending money at the time. All those things have slowly changed over the past 28 years, and now we think nothing of either hopping on the 10 or buying a Metrolink ticket.

Yesterday I went into downtown twice. First time was with the CUSD string students for our 5th annual field trip to the LA Phil for Minimalist Jukebox: Toyota Symphonies for Youth: Finding Patterns in Music. As usual, we had a great time with the students, although some of them wondered "when the real music will start" after listening to the first few minimalist pieces. You can read about last year's field trip here.

We arrived back in Claremont around 2:00, giving me a little breathing time before heading back downtown for an HMC event at the California Club. I had never been to the exclusive California Club before, and I made sure to follow the strict dress code so I wouldn't have to sit in the car during the dinner. Once in awhile I enjoy getting dressed up and going to a fancy place to eat good food in interesting company. 

LA Phil Field Trip - '13

For the 4th year in a row, the CUSD Elementary Instrumental Music Program has been given tickets by the Foothill Philharmonic Committee for students to attend a Toyota Symphonies for Youth by the LA Philharmonic. We take our orchestra students on this trip since they have shown the fortitude to stick with their instrument for more than one year (and some for up to 8 years!). You can read about last year's trip here. This year while waiting for the concert to start, the students on either side of me were perusing the program and asked me all kinds of questions, including "what does 'on sabbatical' mean?" and "what are Junior Patrons?" I was happy to chat with them about what they were going to hear and see, and we looked at the arrangement of the string section (which is not the way we arrange our students) and also looked at the various percussion instruments and how many string basses there were. 

As usual, we partook of the music-making session pre-concert in the amphitheater where the kids got to play boomwhackers, tambourines and hand drums. And, as usual, our students were excellent at performing the correct rhythms and following the conductor.

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Day 21 - Clutter Cleanse: I've really gotten into the old media track and found 10 VHS tapes (some with stuff recorded from tv, some prerecorded stuff) that I will never use. Instead of writing about one a day, let me just say that I am donating or trashing all of these, depending upon their condition.

LA Phil Field Trip - '12

It's the time of year when so much is happening. Yesterday I had the choice of going to a day-long all-church meeting, enjoying the Earth Day Celebration in Claremont, or going to the LA Phil with a group of 34 students and 5 adults for a Toyota Symphony for Youth. Obviously, as the music teacher, I needed to go on the field trip.  Don't feel sorry for me, though.  I really enjoy these music students, and I really enjoy these children's concerts.

This is the third year we've taken the District Elementary Orchestra students to Disney Hall.  You can read about last year's trip here.  This year the Philharmonic played minimalist music of John Cage, Steve Reich, John Adams, and Arvo Part.

LA Phil Chamber Music

We were fortunate, last night, to have been invited to a concert at San Antonio Gardens, hosted by the Foothill Philharmonic Society.  Three members of the LA Phil - violinist Lyndon Johnston Taylor, violist Mick Wetzel, and cellist David Garrett performed a Beethoven String Trio and then spoke about their recent experiences with the LA Phil in Venezuela.

After the concert, I spoke with Johnston Taylor about music education and other things. I asked if these three had ever performed trios before, and he said that this was their first time as a group.

An Afternoon with Gustavo

The day finally arrived when I used my birthday money! I bought tickets to the LA Philharmonic to see Gustavo Dudamel conduct. We started the afternoon with lunch at Philippe's, home of the French Dip Sandwich.

We caught the end of the pre-performance talk given by John Adams, the creative chair of the LA Phil and the composer of City Noir, the final piece of the concert today. Preceding the Adams was LA Variations by Esa-Pekka Salonen and Lou Harrison's Piano Concerto. The orchestra was in full complement with more percussion than you could shake a stick at, two harps, piano, celesta and saxophone. The music was exciting and worth the price of admission.

Here is a photo from atop the Walt Disney Concert Hall.

Moving On

If LA is sad over the Dodgers losing the pennant, we can put our hopes and dreams into the newest LA phenom. Tonight I am watching the Gustavo Dudamel inaugural concert with the LA Philharmonic on PBS. We didn't make the actual concert, but are very happy to be watching it in HD. This guy is GOOD.