Concert
Last night, I went to see Arts to the Rescue, a benefit concert for the arts in New Orleans. It was wonderful. The Columbus Symphony, Opera Columbus, BalletMet, ProMusica, Thurber Center, Columbus Jazz Orchestra and others were represented by music, dance, theatre and song.
My favorite bits were the Reader's Theatre from Thurber House, who did three of his fables. Two were "The Unicorn in the Garden" and "The Tin Box." They didn't script his stories, they just read them, but narrated in character. It was funny and light. It was Thurber, fer pete's sake!
Another wonderful number was a superb alto (she was really hot, too) from Columbus Junior Theatre, who sang "Hold On," from The Secret Garden.
But the best part was the Columbus Jazz Orchestra. They have a new director, Byron Stripling, who is a genius. He did an AWESOME rendition of "St. James Infirmary Blues," and I got positively teary during "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans." They led off with an instrumental piece with a dancer who was just fantastic.
Art students from Columbus College of Art & Design were working at easels in the aisles during the show, and the results were for sale after the show in a silent auction kind of format. I bid on one piece, but others bid after me and DH would probably have been perturbed if I'd spent $100 on an abstract pastel because I liked the lines and it made me think of Mardi Gras.
The only disappointing thing about the show was the turnout. You'd think an unticketed, donation show like this would have raised quite a crowd. There were probably not more than 300-400 people there. Not enough publicity, I guess.
In other news, church did not suck. It's always nice to be able to say that.
My favorite bits were the Reader's Theatre from Thurber House, who did three of his fables. Two were "The Unicorn in the Garden" and "The Tin Box." They didn't script his stories, they just read them, but narrated in character. It was funny and light. It was Thurber, fer pete's sake!
Another wonderful number was a superb alto (she was really hot, too) from Columbus Junior Theatre, who sang "Hold On," from The Secret Garden.
When you see the storm is coming,
See the lightning part the skies,
It's too late to run-
There's terror in your eyes!
What you do then is remember
This old thing you heard me say:
"It's the storm, not you,
That's bound to blow away."
But the best part was the Columbus Jazz Orchestra. They have a new director, Byron Stripling, who is a genius. He did an AWESOME rendition of "St. James Infirmary Blues," and I got positively teary during "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans." They led off with an instrumental piece with a dancer who was just fantastic.
Art students from Columbus College of Art & Design were working at easels in the aisles during the show, and the results were for sale after the show in a silent auction kind of format. I bid on one piece, but others bid after me and DH would probably have been perturbed if I'd spent $100 on an abstract pastel because I liked the lines and it made me think of Mardi Gras.
The only disappointing thing about the show was the turnout. You'd think an unticketed, donation show like this would have raised quite a crowd. There were probably not more than 300-400 people there. Not enough publicity, I guess.
In other news, church did not suck. It's always nice to be able to say that.
4 Comments:
The evening sounded smashing, very cool.
But where does all the fund raising money go? LV has a big push on Red Cross donations, but the newspaper articles say the RC is prevented from rebuilding support by law, and can only offer immediate aid. So money now goes elsewhere.
But glad you are enjoying your time away.
Oh, I wish I could have attended it with you. Love Thurber, and music, and sitting by somebody who loves that too.
The money goes to the Southern Arts Federation's Katrina fund
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