Heading to ‘The Big House.’

We had such a great day!  Saturday afternoon we parked near the University of Michigan’s Hill Auditorium, then walked thirty minutes south, enjoying the sunshine, the students partying in the street, the crowds, the tailgaters, to the stadium where we sat in a VIP box, guests of the School of Education, to watch Michigan beat Massachusetts.

I’ve never been in a VIP box before.  Let me tell you, that’s the way to watch football!  Of course I don’t really get football, though I do enjoy a good long run down the field.  Don’t tell anyone, but I don’t really care which team passes long or runs, it’s just fun to watch.

For me, a college football game is all about the band.  Yes, the band; that group of kids who puts everything they’ve got into providing entertainment and pumping up the crowd.

The band over on the other side kept us in the game.

While other people were chatting before the game I was watching the pregame show.  While others went to the restroom at halftime I was watching the band.  While others were cheering and booing ref calls I was watching the band across the way in the stand as they chanted, shouted, danced and blew their lips out creating excitement.  Yep.  Love football…because of the band.

The “M” marches toward the sideline.

In the middle of the fourth quarter we had to leave the game to walk the 30 minutes back up to the main campus.  We had symphony tickets.   It was the opening night of this year’s season and the Ann Arbor symphony was playing Beethoven.

Hill Auditorium.

As I settled into my seat I jokingly told my Aunt that it would probably be inappropriate to stand up, pump my fist in the air and shout “GO BLUE!” in the middle of Symphony No. 9…right? She thought probably it would not be good.  Apparently I was not the only one feeling the dichotomy of experiences that day, as during the introduction remarks the speaker actually commented on how cool it was to watch a football game then walk across town to hear a symphony.  Then he yelled  “GO BLUE!”  And the audience applauded in response.

The program opened with the National Anthem, the second time I’d heard it that day.  It was played by the full orchestra and sung loud and clear by the audience.  Then most of the orchestra stood up and left, stage left.

The symphony played Twelve Contradances next.  Twelve short pieces,played by a smaller, mostly string subset of the full orchestra.   Each movement is a slightly different version of music to keep your toes tapping..composed in 1802.  As I was listening I noticed a man sitting a couple of rows back from the conductor.  He was sitting quietly, not moving, no instrument that I could see, hands folded in his lap.  I thought maybe he had played with the full orchestra and just forgot to leave with the rest of them.    Then in movement #8 he picked up a tambourine and played it expertly till the end of the movement.  When movement #9 began he again sat, stoically, hands folded in his lap for the rest of the piece.

Ah! Perfido, Op. 65 was sung by  soprano Laura Aikin who has a beautiful and powerful voice.   The music was written to the verse of a poem written by Pietro Metastasio and was all about cruel love.

Symphony and choirs

The last half of the program was Beethoven’s Symphony #9,  Choral, or most of us think of it, Ode to Joy.  It was played by the full orchestra, and sung (in the 4th movement) by 4 soloists and a huge choir.

The first movement was full and lush, my favorite way to listen to a symphony.  The second movement was fun and fast with some amazing oboe, french horn, bassoon and tympani work.  The third movement was a sweet chorale and I was beginning to struggle to keep my eyes open.

All that was overshadowed by the drama of the fourth movement.   It began with notes you’ve all heard in commercials.  Then moved to the cellos and basses, wonderful seamless building of the familiar Ode to Joy melody, followed with the tune repeated in the violas and then the gentle violins.  By now we were all humming along as the sound built and built, bigger, more and more lush until the choir stood up and the sound became wonderfully overwhelming.

The crowd was on their feet before the last note hit the ceiling, cheering and applauding.  Sort of like at football.  We clapped till our hands ached.  The artists on stage grinned like kids.

Yes our day was full.  Full of joy.