I went to Guelph Symphony Orchestra’s presentation of “The Planets.”<\/p>\n
The concert started with Glenn Buhr’s “Akasha (Sky)” and Carl Reinecke’s “Concerto in D major for Flute and Orchestra.” I didn’t know either of these pieces — they were fine, but didn’t really grab me. Laura Andrew played flute in the Reinecke.<\/p>\n
The concert finished with Gustav Holst’s “The Planets.” This piece is in seven movements:<\/p>\n
It’s one of my favourite pieces, and I think this is the first time I’ve heard the whole thing live. It was accompanied by beautiful images from the Hubble Telescope.<\/p>\n
The University of Guelph Women’s Chorus sang in the final movement. The orchestra is directed by Judith Yan.<\/p>\n
I’m not sure if it was me or the acoustics but I felt a bit distanced from the music.<\/p>\n
It’s a bit nitpicky but it would be nice if the enthusiastic concertgoers in Guelph refrained from applauding between movements.<\/p>\n
One unusual thing happened before the intermission. They were holding a vote to determine which symphony would be played at their next concert. I’d read about it before so I knew what was going on, but it seemed a bit perfunctory — it needed a bit more explanation and a bit more played of each symphony for the audience to make a real choice.<\/p>\n
It wasn’t one of my favourite concerts ever but it was a good one.<\/p>\n