For the first time, we attended a Very Young People’s Concert by the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra. It was wonderful. We plan to go again next year.
The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra tuning up before the concert
We had tickets for it last year, but inclement weather canceled the concert altogether and we got our money back. So we were happy the weather cooperated this year.
Tickets cost $8 per person. I made the reservations myself and when they asked me for the name of the school I said Cardinal Point Academy. I do not have our school registered as such officially anywhere. I do not need to. This is America, the land of all possibilities… If you want to have a school, you have a school. The laws allow you do do that.
The sign on our seats, showing the name of our homeschool
It was an interesting experience to see the name of our school on the seats reserved for us. The entire Tennessee Theater was organized this way, and I would like to congratulate the organizers for doing it.
Ceiling detail in the Tennessee Theater
We have attended other concerts at the Knoxville Civic Auditorium and I have never seen labels on seats. The ushers are happy to help in both locations, but it feels so nice to visually see where everybody is situated.
My children before the concert, inside the Tennessee Theater
This particular concert’s theme was “Let’s Tell a Story” and the mascot, Picardy Penguin, showed up on the screen, to teach and entertain. My kids loved Picardy, by the way.
A talented vocalist demonstrated how to make something sound funny, dramatic etc., or how to express nervousness in song. Sorry, her name escapes me.
They had a theme song, “Music Can Make You Laugh or Cry” and we all sang that in the beginning and at the end. They brought in nine modern dancers for Peter and The Wolf which added to the experience. Personally, I don’t care for that piece of music, so it was nice to have something else to focus on. Sorry, Prokofiev!
If you are a teacher, homeschool or otherwise, you receive a CD and a packet with information and lesson plans to educate the children before and after the concert. All in all, this goes down in history as the best field trip of this school year. So far at least.
Our family went too. It was such a great performance!