A Night at the Symphony...

OK, I'll admit it – the main attraction was to be able to brag to Jen that I managed to take the kids to "the Symphony" while she was out of town last week. The theory being that six nights of inattentive parenting could be overcome with one night of highbrow fare. Jen saw right through it, of course, but despite her better instincts remains impressed at our tony evening out.

The Fargo-Moorhead Symphony and the Fargo-Moorhead Youth Symphony performed a concert of John Williams standards (well, okay – middlebrow fare) Saturday night in the basketball arena at Concordia College in Moorhead. This is the two orchestras together:

A pretty impressive crowd playing to a sold-out show. The Youth Symphony turned out to be about two-thirds of the musicians, and when they were excused after performing their numbers (one was Beethoven's Fifth, which I was unaware John Williams wrote – what a talented man!), the stage was much more empty.

The organizers clearly knew how to draw and keep a crowd; it was billed as "Pizza Pop - The Epic in Williams," and after the show, there was indeed pizza and pop served to the crowd on the basketball floor just behind the sound reflectors behind the musicians. Also, Darth Vader appeared toward the end to stalk the stage while the orchestra played his theme song: Williams' "Imperial March." Tickets were promoted heavily at area supermarkets, where we purchased a family five-pack for $25.