A Musical Space Odyssey

Marina and I are regular attendees of the symphony. However, we’ve been interested in seeing a concert by another group closer to home. Their family friendly Space Odyssey concert sounded like it was right up our alley. Marina decided to wear her Rey costume today.

When we arrived it was a crazy scene. The concert was very popular. We spotted some Star Wars cosplayers and took some photos with them before finding seats in the second row.

The concert was a fun one. Marina recognized much of the music and she loved it. She even expressed interest in attending their Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony when they perform it next month

The Pirates of Penzance

When Marina was in middle school, the theater department presented the operetta The Pirates of Penzance. It’s a show I really enjoy and Marina liked it. This weekend, the Gilbert and Sullivan Players were preforming the show with the symphony. Marina and I were both excited to see it.

Marina wanted to wear her tavern girl costume, but she couldn’t find it. So she created her won sea witch look. The performing arts complex was pretty full this evening. So it took a while, but we managed to find a spot on the top level.

When we arrived, we picked up drinks – Marina got a chai latte. We met up with some women who were in costume. Marina called them “Lolita’s.” She liked talking with them. Then we went to our seats which were in the front row.

The symphony was quite a bit smaller than usual for this performance. There was no set, but all of the actors wore colorful costumes. Since we were up close we could see everything well. The show was funny and well preformed. I had to explain the “paradox” of the show to Marina but she got it quickly.

After the show she said she really liked it.

A Festive Colorado Christmas

The symphony concert A Colorado Christmas has become a holiday tradition for Marina and I. This year, we invited Ainsley to join us.The girls decided to wear festive outfits. Marina wore her elf dress. Ainsley had on a red dress which we helped accessorize with a black Santa belt and a cardigan with snowflakes on it.

We decide to check out the Mile High Tree. The tree is a new feature this year that has an interactive light show inside. Marina and Ainsley laid down on the ground to watch the show. They both loved it!

We went into the concert hall for the concert. We checked out the pre show activities. Santa was there, so we got a photo with him. The girls weren’t interested in the activities, so we picked up some warm drinks and sat down.

The concert was fun, as usual. We all enjoyed the music and especially the Sing Along. At intermission we took a photo with Santa and Mrs. Claus. After the concert we were able to exit the parking garage quickly, but we ran into traffic, so it took us quite a while to get home. Both girls fell asleep on the drive. So once we arrived at the house, they went right to bed.

Spooktacular Music

Marina and I have always enjoyed going to the Colorado Symphony’s Halloween Spooktacular in the past. We haven’t always been able to fit it into our schedule however. So this year when they decided to schedule it after Halloween we were able to make it work.

Marina decided to wear her Mulan costume for the show. I wore my new Elsa dress. We left the house early but ran into Bronco traffic downtown. Fortunately, we still arrived on time.

We took a look around the pre show activities. It was jam packed with people so we didn’t stay long. We decided to order chai lattes to drink during the show. The barista decorated the top with Jack O’Lantern faces.

The show was fun. It featured music from Star Wars, Jurassic Park and the Harry Potter movies. There were also a few classical pieces mixed in. Of course, Marina and I enjoyed looking at all the costumes just as much as the music.

The Nightmare Before Christmas

Marina has been a fan of the movie The Nightmare Before Christmas for many years. I’ve never seen it however. Over the past few years, the symphony has presented it in concert right around Halloween. We’ve wanted to go but hadn’t been able to make it happen in the past. So I decided to buy tickets this year.

Marina wore her Sally dress and drew stitch marks on her face. She decided not to have her hair colored red like Sally’s however.

We left the house early to deal with rush hour traffic. Once we were inside the concert hall, we decided to check out the activities they had set up. Marina decided to try one of them out.
Once her craft was done, we bought drinks and went tour seats. The symphony has a new screen set up that made it much easier for us to see.

Marina loved seeing the movie again. After it was over she said it “took me back to my childhood.”

Marina and the Wolf

We had tickets to Peter and the Wolf at the symphony and Marina wanted to dress as a wolf. She wore the wolf hat I bought her last year at the Red Riding Hood opera with a grey dress and black leggings. Then with makeup she added a black nose and whiskers. She looked so cute!

We ran into more traffic than we expected going to the concert hall. But we managed to park in the garage and get through security with time to get drinks before going to our seats. As we went to tour seats, the symphony photographer asked if he could get a photo of ”the wolf.” Marina was happy to oblige. The crowd arrived fairly late, so the show was delayed in starting.

This performance featured a mime troop. Early on we were introduced to Maggie who played the part of Peter. The musicians who played the parts of the animals stood in for them. Even the conductor Christopher Dragon got involved in the action as the grumpy grandfather. It was a fun performance to watch.

As we left, many children admired Marina’s costume. She loved that!

Musical Theater Showcase

Marina shares her birthday with Stephen Sondheim and Andrew Lloyd Webber. Over the years, she has become a fan the musicals they have written. The symphony had a concert featuring the music of both of these composers. We were both excited to go.

There were quite a few events going on downtown this weekend so we left early to avoid parking issues. It took a bit longer than usual, but we managed to get a good spot and arrive early at the concert hall. We bought drinks – Marina got a chai latte.

We went to our seats about half an hour before the concert started. Marina had brought her Nintendo DS with her, so she played on it until the show began.

We were a bit disappointed that our favorite conductor was not conducting the concert as scheduled, but we still enjoyed it. The concert featured three soloists. One of the women was a character actress who brought lots of character to each song she performed. The first half was all Sondheim songs. Marina has seen a few of those shows, but she didn’t seem to remember many of them.

After intermission was all the Andrew Lloyd Webber music. Most of those songs she recognized. She especially liked the selections from The Phantom of the Opera. The male soloist gave an amazing performance. After the concert was over one of the singers was in the lobby to sell and sign her merchandise. Marina had wanted to meet her, but the line was very long, so we decided to go home.

Comic Con Concert

Two years ago, Marina and I attended A Salute to Comic Con at the Symphony. We’d both had a great time. When the schedule came out with it on the schedule again this season we both wanted to go again.

Marina wasn’t sure what to wear tonight. She ultimately decided to be a Lolita doll. She put on a Victorian dress I recently got for her with her striped tights. I put her hair into spiral curls and she gave herself rosy cheeks and wore false eyelashes. When she was done getting dress she said, “I nailed it!” I wore my Catlyn Stark costume from Game of Thrones.

We left the house early so we could get through rush hour traffic. Fortunately it wasn’t too bad and we arrived early. We were disappointed that there weren’t any cosplayers this year. It was also surprising that not many attendees dressed up either. We checked out the activities. Marina decided to make a Lord of the Rings leaf pin.

We bought drinks and went to our seats which were right up front. Marina chatted with many of the people around us – mostly those whose costumes she liked.

Our favorite conductor came out dressed as a dragon to start the show. We heard music from Game of Thrones, Star Wars, Mary Poppins and The Lord of the Rings. We both enjoyed the concert and we were fortunate that it didn’t take too long to get home.

Rodgers and Hammerstein Celebration

Given our love of musical theatre, the Rodgers and Hammerstein Celebration concert at the symphony sounded like one we would enjoy. It was a busy evening downtown so we took the light rail to the performing arts complex.

When we arrived I picked up a drink for Marina and we found our seats. Marian was a bit self-conscious when she saw that most of the audience were much older adults. I saw that the song list included quite a few from South Pacific and The Sound of Music. Since those are two shows she likes I knew she’d enjoy the concert.

The concert began with our favorite conductor leading the symphony in the overture from The Sound of Music. Then the three soloists came out to perform. They were all very talented and we enjoyed their performances. Marina especially enjoyed the female singer’s costume changes – she wore four different evening gowns over the course of the night.

After the show was over, Marina said she enjoyed the concert more than she expected to. We were pretty tired by the end of this fun day.

Pirates of the Symphony Seas

We saw two episodes of Siren Song earlier this year. The actors from those shows put together this performance with the symphony called Pirates of the Symphony Seas. Marina was excited to see it.

We were both pleased to see our favorite conductor. The concert began with music from The Pirates of the Caribbean, which made Marina happy. Then the actors from Siren Song started their show. It was silly and Marina enjoyed watching it.

The performance was about an hour long. When it was over, we made our way to the stage to chat with the actors. They remembered us and posed for photos with Marina.

We went home after the concert and spent the rest of the evening relaxing.

Jurassic Park in Concert

We have enjoyed going to the symphony for years. They often screen movies in the concert hall with the music being played live. When Marina heard they were screening Jurassic Park, she immediately wanted to go. I love the music from the film, so I got the tickets.

As usual, Marina wanted to cosplay. She wore her red Jurassic Park t-shirt, khaki shorts and hiking boots – very similar to Laura Dern’s outfit in the movie. She even put her hair in a ponytail.

We picked up drinks before the show and settled in to our seats. We both wished we had popcorn to much on as well! Once the conductor walked onstage, Marina was excited for the movie to start. She paid close attention to the movie and had very strong reactions to the action. We both agreed it was much scarier than when we watch it at home.

Video Games Live

This evening we had tickets to see Video Games Live at the symphony. She was excited about the concert. Marina chose her Princess Zelda costume to wear for the evening. We had hoped to get there early, but that didn’t work out as we wanted. But we did have time to get drinks and a snack before we took our seats.

We were surprised that we didn’t see many cosplayers, but Marina didn’t mind being one of the few who were dressed up. Our seats were very close – we were in the second row! One of my coworkers was in front of us. While we watched the musicians warm us, we noticed a violin player who was also dressed as Zelda. Marina was thrilled. We tried to get her attention but weren’t able to catch her eye before the show started.

This concert was not what we were expecting. The performance included many guest artists, mostly the composers of the music. Our host for the evening was Tommy Tallarico. He complimented the violin player on her costume. She then pointed out Marina to him. So he talked to her for a few moments during the show. She loved that!

The music played by the symphony was wonderful and it was accompanied by game excepts on the screen. We were also excited by an appearance by Austin Wintory, who is from Denver. He wrote the music from Assassin’s Creed. We heard a piece from that last year at the Salute to Comic Con as well. Of course, her favorite piece was the music from The Legend of Zelda. At intermission, Marina had quite a few people who wanted a photo with her. She was happy to pose with everyone who asked.

After the show was over, we finally got the attention of the violinist dressed as Zelda and got a photo of the two of them. Marina wanted to go to the meet and greet. I bought a poster for her and we had all the artists sign it. We also had a chance to speak and get photos with all of them.

It was late when we finally left so we were able to get home quickly. We both had a great time.

The Music of John Wiliams

With her growing interest in music and movies, Marina has developed an appreciation for the music written by John Williams. His birthday was yesterday, so the symphony had a concert featuring his music. When Marina heard about it she wanted to go. So I got the tickets. However, when the music list came out, we were both a bit disappointed, very little music we were familiar with was on the list.

We arrived at the concert hall early and since it was a cold night, we ordered chai lattes to drink. Our seats were near the stage by the percussion section. Before the concert began, she played on her phone.

Once the music started, Marina did a good job of paying attention to the performance. She admitted she enjoyed some of the music, even if it wasn’t familiar to her. At intermission we talked to a couple who were sitting near us.

After the concert was over we were able to get home quickly. I was proud of how Marina behaved despite not getting quite what she was expecting.

Christmas Concert

It has been quite a while since Marina and I have attended a symphony concert. So, we were both looking forward to the Christmas concert this evening. After school today we ate dinner and got ready to go. Marina wore a Santa inspired outfit. She looked really cute!

Marina decided she wanted to take the light rail downtown. That turned out to be a really smart plan. The performing arts complex had seven events scheduled for around the same time! When we arrived there were people everywhere. We saw a group called The singing group singing carols outside the concert hall. We’d met one of the performers before. During the song she pointed to us. We were surprised and pleased she remembered!

We went into concert hall and bought drinks and snacks. We left our coats at our seats and went to check out the activities set up for kids. We were surprised to see Santa sitting in the middle of the room. There was not line, so Marina posed for a photo with him. Then she sat down and made a paper bag reindeer puppet. As she was working on it, we saw the singing group come in. They had used a room there to change their clothes. Marina immediately ran over to say hello.

She finished her puppet a few minutes before the show started, so we went to our seats. We had a few minutes to look over the program before the show began. We were both pleased that our favorite conductorwould be conducting the concert.

The concert featured two children’s choirs, the Symphony Chorus and a soloist. We enjoyed the variety of musical numbers in the show. She particularly liked the Polar Express portion. She was quire pleased when the soloist walked past her seat and gave her a nod. Santa and Mrs. Claus made an appearance and we managed to get a photo with them at intermission.

We both enjoyed the show. Afterwards we were hoping to meet the soloist, but he did not appear in the lobby afterwards. So we went to the light rail and went home.

Star Wars Symphony

Marina has been much more interested in Star Wars lately. Most nights before bed she wants to watch part of a movie. So we have been seeing them mini-series style, an hour at a time. Because of her interest, I decided to get tickets for The Music of Star Wars at the symphony. She had a tough time deciding what to wear to the concert. Recently I bought her Rey from The Force Awakens and Jyn from Rogue One. Ultimately she decided on Rey. The hairstyle was difficult for me to replicate, but we finally got it done with a lot of bobby pins and hairspray.

We arrived at the concert hall early, so we picked up our tickets right away. After we did, we met the Symphony photographer, who asked if he could take her picture. She was happy to comply. Before the show started, there were cosplayers in the lobby. Marina was happy to have her picture taken with them. As I was taking her picture I saw other people also taking pictures. I think they believed she was one of the cosplayers!

Next we checked out the kids crafts. There was only one craft – making lightsabers out of pool noodles. They had a guide on the wall of what characters carried which color lightsaber. As soon as Marina saw that Rey’s light saber was blue, she knew she wanted that color. As she was making her lightsaber, we met up with a couple of other girls dressed as Rey.  Marina said if she had known there would be so many Reys she would have dressed as Jyn.

Once the craft was done, we found our seats. This concert was very popular, so they opened up the Parquet, which they usually don’t sell the seats for. I decided to give them a try. We loved the seats! We could see the conductor, very well throughout the concert. We were also right behind the percussion section. After the show was over, we were able to talk with a few of the musicians.

We both enjoyed the music. It was fun to be able to see the conductor’s face throughout and it was very interesting to see the percussion section in action. After the concert, the cymbal player borrowed Marina’s light saber to have a duel with a little boy near us. Marina told him he looked like Anakin Skywalker. He seemed pleased by the compliment.

On our way out we heard fireworks. It turned out that we could see the display coming from an amusement park. So we stayed and watched them. By then the parking lot had cleared out and we had an easy trip home.

Enchanted Symphony

Marina and I have attended quite a few concerts at the symphony this year. Today we were excited for their “Symphonic Beauty and the Beast” concert. Marina wore her blue Belle dress.

We left the house early for the show. I learned a large group of fairytale characters would be in the lobby before the show. Since we were so early, we got the most amazing parking spot - almost directly outside the concert hall!

When we arrived we saw the characters were already there. We got photos with Ariel, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Jasmine and Rapunzel right away. Then we waited in a short line for pictures with Belle, her prince, Gaston and Le Fou. Next up, we met Anna and Elsa with Kristoff followed by Cinderella and her Prince. We also found Pocahontas, Moana and Te Fiti.

After we met all the characters, we found the craft area where Marina made a green necklace which she gave to Te Fiti. On our way to our seats, we ran into Elena of Avalor.

We bought drinks and Marina picked out a snack, then we went to our seats. We really liked our view – we were directly behind the horn section. When the concert started we could see the conductor very well.

The concert was a combination of classical pieces and music from movies. A vocalist came out to sing several songs from the Broadway musical Beauty and the Beast. We loved her performance and Marina gushed over her ball gown.

After the concert, the characters were in the lobby again. Marina hugged each one before we left.

Comic Con at the Symphony

One of Marina’s birthday presents from me is tickets to Comic Con this summer. Tonight, the symphony had a salute to Comic Con concert. Marina was excited to check it out. She wore her sailor costume from Halloween but this time she was Sailor Moon.

We arrived early for the show. There was plenty to keep us occupied. We found a large group of cosplayers in Star Wars costumes. Of course, Marina wanted to have her picture taken with them. We found the Comic Con table where we each posed for a picture in front of their green screen and learned more about the show. Marina also spotted a group of people dressed at the Avengers. She quickly went over to compliment them on their costumes.

Our seats were very close to the stage and we were happy when we recognized the conductor. We had enjoyed watching him during Peter and the Wolf, so we were happy to see him again. He came out dressed as Jack Skellington. Later on in the show, she changed into a Tyrannosaurus Rex costume. He conducted the theme from Jurassic Park dressed that way. It was so funny! After intermission, the conductor came out dressed as Harry Potter and he changed into a Chewbacca costume for the final two pieces from Star Wars.

We were fortunate to catch our train quickly after the concert. We were both very tired on the trip home.

Peter and the Wolf

Marina and I had tickets to see Peter and the Wolf at the Colorado Symphony this afternoon. Marina always wants to dress up when we go out, so she decided to wear her Red Riding Hood costume. After all, her story contains a wolf as well.

We arrived with enough time to get drinks and find our seats before the concert began. We laughed when the conductor, Christopher Dragon, came out. He had crazy mad scientist hair. And throughout the concert he had funny facial expressions and body movements. That kept Marina entertained through some of the less familiar music.

She did seem to recognize parts of The William Tell Overture. When they started Peter and the Wolf, a narrator came out to tell the story. That helped Marina to recognize the musical themes throughout.

After the concert she reluctantly let me take a few pictures before we went home.

Frosty and Frozen

We had tickets for the Frosty and Frozen concert this evening at the symphony. Marina wore her Anna trekking costume. We were early, so we went to a nearby coffee shop for dinner. 

We went to the concert hall and found activities set up before the show. Marina made a snowman popper, fished for a candy cane and had snowflakes painted on her cheek.

A few minutes before the concert began we went to our seats. A nice couple was sitting next to us and we chatted with them before the show began. The concert was a combination of Christmas songs, classical music and the soundtrack from movies. A vocalist performed songs from Frozen and led a sing along at the end. Both of us enjoyed the performances.