Last Saturday, I had the pleasure of attending Cornell’s Symphony Orchestra at Bailey Hall. As a performer, it’s always exciting for me to be on the other side of the curtain. Because I’m involved in dance community, I’ve seen many different shows at Bailey Hall, from dance showcases to Bill Gates, but I’ve never attended a Philharmonic Orchestra concert. I was amazed at how so many different sounds could be created by materials like strings and wood. It was incredible how I could hear emotion in the music, excitement, sadness, yearning, all of it. Not only was the show exciting to hear, it was also fun to watch. Every musician was in sync with the other in movement, forming their very own dance.
The program consisted of music composed by Tchaikovsky and Sibelius, two well known musicians of the 19th century. Tchaikovsky is very well known for his music to the Nutcracker, Swan Lake, and Sleeping Beauty, which are coincidentally all very famous ballets. I personally have had the privilege of both watching these ballets danced by professional ballet companies and dancing in these ballets myself. I was surprised that I could recognize the composer and tell the difference between ballads. While classical art hasn’t been very popular in recent history, it has maintained its presence as entertainment for well off or well educated folk. I think this is because both witnessing, or participating, in classical art forms are very costly. Wether you are attending a show in a fancy auditorium, paying for lessons, or buying that instrument or pointe shoes. For this reason, I am glad that the CSO opens up the show to the whole community for free and allows many people of all backgrounds to participate in classical culture.
I was impressed by the amount of passion all of the musicians seemed to have towards the art. You could see the passion in their faces and movements and thereby feel the emotion that the music brings. Classical music is getting more and more obscure as times progress, so it was very exciting to see that there are still many students that whole heartedly dedicate time towards.
It sounds like it was a great performance and you had a great time. I don’t think I’ve seen Cornell’s Symphony Orchestra but I should probably try to next year based on your experience.
I agree with the comment above. Based on your description, especially because you’ve seen so many shows and are a performer yourself, and to hear that this one in particular was so amazing is a great encouragement to go see it next year.
I did not have the chance to attend this event but I would like to go to a concert by Cornell’s Symphony Orchestra in the future. I stopped playing the violin when I came to college and I miss playing now so it would be nice to go to an orchestra concert again and support their efforts. Events such as orchestra concerts and theatre are often activities that are accessible only to people with a certain amount of wealth so, as you said, it’s important that this concert is offered for free so anyone no matter their background can enjoy the event. I was lucky enough to grow up in an area that encouraged youth to attend and participate in such events by making them accessible to people who could not afford $70 musical tickets. I could go see a musical for $5 or go to an art gallery for free. I hope that this trend continues and that efforts towards increasing accessibility of the arts continue to reach the youth specifically so they can develop an appreciation of the arts earlier in life.