Symphony in the City

When I discovered that Dan had never seen a full orchestra play live I decided it we should try to find a concert to go to. Originally I thought it would be awesome to see one at the Opera House when we got to Sydney but it was too expensive so that idea quickly went out of the window. So when I saw that there was a free concert happening in Langley Park show casing the West Australian Symphony Orchestra and Chorus (WASO) season for 2014 we had to go and check it out.

We wanted to get a good spot so went early into the city and managed to get a space close to the front. Blanket laid out and picnic ready we settled down to enjoy the sunshine and watched the crowds gather.

Soon there was no spare grass as rugs and sheets of various colours and sizes quickly materialised turning the front section of the park into a large patchwork blanket. Everyone was in good spirits and further back after the blanket only section the crowds filled from low chairs to normal sized ones to make sure everyone had a good view.

You know you re at a different music festival when someone pulls out the scrabble along with wine and cheese!

A jazz band blended in with the relaxed chatter of a sunny afternoon creating a great atmosphere.

As we idly laid in the sun an ominous shadow caught our eye... It was Darth Vader! Along with the rest of the cast of Star Wars, who had come out for a photo opportunity with kids and adults alike! Can you guess that the Star Wars theme tune would be one of the pieces played!

Love these guys.

The show was opened with the Twentieth Century Fox Fanfare followed by the Star Wars theme. Whilst this was played an epic battle was fought at the front of the stage complete with lightsabers!

This was the programme that was played...

Everyone was captivated by the theme from Schindlers List and even the kids all stopped playing to listen to the tiny violinist who was playing those haunting notes, the crowd was silent for a few moments after she finished before erupting in applause. Definitely the performance of the night.

The Lord of the Rings score was conducted by the appropriately named Christopher Dragon and we were transported to the world of hobbits and elves although I was a bit disappointed that they didn't put on a Hobbit vs Orc battle like they had done for Star Wars.

We learnt that it is tradition to stand during the Hallelujah Chorus as King George II was so impressed by it at the UK premiere that he got to his feet, and of course if the King was standing then the crowd needed to follow suit.

The evening ended with a good old sing along and fireworks! It had been a great way to spend an evening and all this had been FREE! Awesome!

Sxx