ATLANTIC CROSSINGS, APRIL 2017
Dear friends,
Long before I had ever held a flute up to my lips, or had ever heard the names Copland, Ravel, or Strauss, I was given a little music box of two Viennese figures in dirndls, dancing and bobbing to the Emperor Waltz. I remember hearing that lilting, bittersweet tune for the first time and how it made my six year old self want to dance.
I know. I talk about this a lot: the way music and memory play an ever-interconnected role in my life: I almost always remember where and when I first heard and fell in love with a piece, and this emotional component often inspires my programming. Sometimes I find myself choosing music that has in some way altered my own personal sensibilities, with the hope that it will do the same for you.
Just in case you hadn’t noticed, there are 15 — you heard me, 15 — musicians in today’s concert! I am both touched and honored that four former Mistral members traveled from Philadelphia and Chicago to join Mistral musicians and BSO guests to perform this season’s finale! Such a reunion means that rehearsals at 1258 Beacon Street were full of friendship and intensely fun music-making, with two devoted connoisseurs, our kitties Daphne and Chloë, always close by. These players are the best of the best in every way, and even agreed to the staging of a ‘flashmob’ in the Prudential Center to bring Copland and his “Simple Gifts” to that most unlikely venue, a shopping center.
This weekend celebrates two decades since our inaugural Andover concert in 1997! Who knew we would come this far? Thank you again for filling our seats and welcoming us with your beautiful, happy smiles. I am hard at work finalizing programs and artists for 2017-2018, and cannot wait to share them with you! Please make sure we can find you!
-Julie
