We took “The Triplets” out to the symphony last night. “The Triplets?” Well, the family joke is that The Girl is 18, The Boy is 14, and between the two of them it is like having twins of 16. Now throw in The Boyfriend, and you get… 15-year-old TRIPLETS!
When I was young, I don’t remember going to the symphony, the theater, or operas. I don’t think we ever visited any of the cultural venues of Los Angeles County. There’s a lesson for aspiring parents- decades later, your kids probably won’t remember if you took them to specific activities! Save a boat load of cash and make up trips, and add in some family anecdotes to make it all seem real: “Oh yes, child, don’t you remember going to the Big City Ballet to see ‘Die Fledermaus?’ Strauss was your favorite as a toddler! Yes, you were three, and so excited to meet the Prima Ballerina backstage that you were sick all over your father’s shoes, so we had to take you home immediately after the show.”
No, seriously though, we went to ball games, on fabulous camping trips all the way up the coast to see redwoods and old family friends, and so many field trips as a school child, my parents didn’t need to revisit the La Brea Tar Pits or Natural History Museums with us. We’d covered that with the schools. My father usually had one of the great Southern California Jazz stations playing on these drives thereby placing a love of Coltrane, Davis, Bill Evans, and Brubeck in my heart. Thanks, dad, I am forever grateful!
I did, however, want to go to symphonies, ballets, operas and other events as I came into my own adulthood, and wanted to bring my children. When they were very young, both accompanied us to Indianapolis’s wonderful outdoor jazz festival- the Indy Jazz Fest, but no symphony or theater. Poor children, no Die Fledermaus for them, they had to settle for B.B. King, Keb’ Mo’ and more of our family’s favorites, like Los Lobos, Buddy Guy, Susan Tedeschi… the list went on.
Last night’s concert was the season finale for the San Diego Symphony. What a fabulous choice of pieces they performed! We love Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3 and Brahms’s Symphony No. 2. We were also introduced to a newer composer, Aaron Jay Kernis. His 1990 “Musica Celestis” was amazing- particularly because I don’t tend to like newer compositions.
A wonderful evening overall. And I love the architectural details found in the symphony hall and snapped a few photos to hold me over until next season. I hope you enjoy them, too!
branching out... on a limb 