Summer Spa For Your Soul
Finding an orchestra in places you wouldn’t think to look.
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by Drew McManus
July 5, 2004
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Planning on taking a trip out to Yellowstone National Park, the forests of Oregon, or perhaps you’re heading off to Europe? Either way, you’re more than likely to run smack dab into a full symphony orchestra while you’re on your travels.
And if you’re not taking a trip this summer, relax; you can still find special summer programs in nearly every major city. Some of the larger cities, such as Chicago even have special orchestras that form just for the summer, even though their year round orchestras maintain regular concerts. The Grant Park Music Festival features a full orchestra and chorus that perform downtown in the new Jay Pritzker Pavilion.
And if you’re wondering if these orchestras are nothing more than pick up groups of college students out on summer break, think again. The majority of ensembles are composed of some of the finest orchestra musicians throughout the world.
Since many orchestras have little to no summer seasons, these players take much of that down time to perform in these orchestras. They rarely pay very much, but it’s more like a break even working vacation for them. But in the end, the real winners are the patrons.
Many orchestral music festivals are becoming main attractions in and of themselves. Several RV associations schedule member trips around festival orchestra schedules. If you call a travel agent, you can even have them design trips to include tickets to music festivals.
Here’s a list of resources for some many summer festivals that feature orchestra and opera music across the U.S. and throughout the world:
So remember that even though you may be trying to get away from the suburbs or the city for a week or two, don’t let that prevent you from enjoying everything a classical music concert has to offer.
As for me, I’m spending a week at the Grand Teton National Park. While you’re reading this, I’m probably returning from a hike around Jenny Lake and preparing to head off for a concert in the evening featuring Hailstork, Barber, Ives, Corigliano, and Dvorak. Life’s good.
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