William has always been a fan of orchestral music and when ticket sales for the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra's second season of 2013 opened, I immediately bought tickets.
The JPO is based at the Linder Auditorium, situated on the University of the Witwatersrand's education campus, and what a stunning venue it is.
Being our first time attending an concerto, we did not know what to expect but thankfully we were seated next to a young Asian guy that was a regular and kindly pointed out some rules:
1) Never talk during a piece. The shows are recorded (as was the case with last night) to later be sold on CD, so any background noise may be picked up by the huge microphones which may reduce the quality of the recording.
Ooops, William and I had discussed the conductor's animatedness during the opening number!
2) Don't eat, drink or cough during a performance.
Yes, you read right. Cough. It's listed right there in the program!
3) Be mindful of when the number has been completed as opposed to a break (our guide had the correct terminology for this but it seems to have escaped me at present). You do not want to start clapping at the most inopportune moment.
4) Don't stop clapping at the end of the performance. The conductor will leave the stage and return at least twice, and then the musicians will bow to the audience so one will need to keep the momentum going.
Yes, this does mean your hands will get sore but once you've seen an orchestra of this nature perform, they really are worthy of this applause.
I highly recommend that any classical music lover (or non classical music lover) attend a performance because it really is quite surreal to watch musicians perform with such passion for their craft.
Almost makes one want to take up the violin!
Have a great weekend, readers.
xx
The JPO is based at the Linder Auditorium, situated on the University of the Witwatersrand's education campus, and what a stunning venue it is.
Being our first time attending an concerto, we did not know what to expect but thankfully we were seated next to a young Asian guy that was a regular and kindly pointed out some rules:
1) Never talk during a piece. The shows are recorded (as was the case with last night) to later be sold on CD, so any background noise may be picked up by the huge microphones which may reduce the quality of the recording.
Ooops, William and I had discussed the conductor's animatedness during the opening number!
2) Don't eat, drink or cough during a performance.
Yes, you read right. Cough. It's listed right there in the program!
3) Be mindful of when the number has been completed as opposed to a break (our guide had the correct terminology for this but it seems to have escaped me at present). You do not want to start clapping at the most inopportune moment.
4) Don't stop clapping at the end of the performance. The conductor will leave the stage and return at least twice, and then the musicians will bow to the audience so one will need to keep the momentum going.
Yes, this does mean your hands will get sore but once you've seen an orchestra of this nature perform, they really are worthy of this applause.
I highly recommend that any classical music lover (or non classical music lover) attend a performance because it really is quite surreal to watch musicians perform with such passion for their craft.
Almost makes one want to take up the violin!
Have a great weekend, readers.
xx
No comments:
Post a Comment