"So I say thank you for the music,
The songs I'm singing,
Thanks for all the joy they're bringing,
Who could live without it,
I ask in all honesty,
What would life be,
Without a song or a dance what are we?
So I say thank you for the music,
For giving it to me."
Because when you think "SUWO", you think "ABBA". :)
What a weekend this was! From 9:45 on Saturday morning until 10pm on Sunday night, it pretty much straight SUWO from top to bottom, on all sides. The result? A fabulous weekend with our MUWO brethren, a humongously humongous audience, the likes of which SUWO does not often see, and, of course, a fantastic concert.
So we all arrived at Firth Hall between 9:45 and 10:30 on Saturday morning, grumbling about how early we had been ordered to rise from our student-status-induced weekend morning slumbers, only to have to promptly cease our complaints around the poor MUWO blighters, who had had to catch a train at an even more obscene hour. We instead busied ourselves with welcoming the MUWOers, shaking hands, working out seating, apologising in advance for any confusion our chosen pieces might cause, etc. The rest of the morning was then spent practising our two joint pieces, Tails aus dem Vood Viennoise by Bill Conner and Windows of the World by Peter Graham (a piece SUWO played last semester for our Global Variations concert). Now, these pieces sounded pretty good when it was just SUWO playing them, if I do say so myself. But the extra talent MUWO brought in turned these pieces from 'pretty good' to 'freakin' AMAZING!' Everything, from the lovely horn solo in the second movement of Windows of the World, to the faultless whirler work during movement 3 of Tails aus dem Vood Viennoise, was fabulous. And if you don't believe me, well... you should have come to the concert.
The afternoon was spent working on various SUWO pieces - just a bit of a tidy-up for tomorrow. Then rehearsal was over, and the festivities of the night (featuring a Pop Tarts night) commenced. You would be reading more about this evening on here, but sadly this author was unable to go, and will now spare a second or two of typing to encourage others who would like to contribute to this blog to tell all.
...pleeeeaseeee??? :):):)
Sunday rehearsals were short and sweet - a run-through of the program, essentially, before we all ran home to change into our concert blacks. We then assembled in the back rooms of the Firth Hall, like the Power Rangers but with less helmets and martial arts skills, and more black slacks and weapons of mass musicalisation. One pep talk from Tony later and we were on stage, gazing at awe at the sheer size of our audience and surely wondering what lucky star SUWO was born under to have gained two such incredible PR officers for 2011-2012. Lesser mortals would have been paralysed with fear at having to play in front of such a large number of people, but SUWO and MUWO are made of stronger stuff than that.
So, highlights of the concert?
- The squeaking noise one of the percussion instruments was clever enough to make, completely unprompted by any percussionist, during the first few movements of Windows of the World.
- "KUUUUUUUM WAMBO! WAAAAAAAAA!!!" - as shouted by the trumpeters and lower brass in movement 4 of Windows of the World.
- Listening to the ridiculously talented Linda Merrick playing the solo clarinet parts of "Burn" by Peter Meecham
- Tony gazing at the audience in utter confusion as he tried to locate The Most Prestigious Honourable And Now Former President George M. Morton, and Mr. Morton being halfway towards the stage before Mr. Houghton found him.
- Whirlers: the instruments of the hour. 'Nuff said.
Stay tuned, for in the next few days, many photos and videos shall be posted.
No comments:
Post a Comment