One of my fondest memories growing up was going to the Young People’s Concerts at Lincoln Center. I would go with my aunt and it was a very special outing. I would wear a party dress, and we would go to lunch and then afterwards, usually a trip to FAO Schwartz and Serendipity. It was a little girl’s dream come true day in New York City.
There was something magical about wearing a party dress. I had one in particular that I loved more than the others (and I had quite the collection). It was a white dress, with pink rosettes. There was a tulle crinoline underneath, and I felt like a ballerina when I wore it. I would pretend I was Giselle or the white swan in Swan Lake, twirling and whirling and pirouetting through life with ease. I wanted to wear the dress all the time, because it made me feel like a princess. If I could, I would have worn a teeny, tiny tiara with it, because my trips to New York made me feel like a princess.
I loved going to Lincoln Center. There was something magical about it, and I learned to appreciate opera, ballet and the symphony at a young age. I have a confession to make, with some pieces of classical music, I can see a movie in my head of the music. Debussy and Vivaldi make me think of pastoral lands, like the fields of Provence or the gardens at Giverny (and a Monet painting coming to life). Mozart immediately makes me think of the movie Amadeus, with Tom Hulce conducting. I go backward in time with mental ease to the Hapsburg court, with its pageantry.
When I was older, I began to volunteer with the different arts organizations to allow me to continue to attend performances, even if I couldn’t afford the ticket prices. As a teenager, I volunteered at the Utah Symphony, Utah Opera and Ballet West and was able to attend every performance I wanted to-as well as learn the back office operations. I got to listen to rehearsals, watched warm ups and saw backstage areas that were normally off limits. Plus, I got to attend meet and greets generally reserved for the big donors. This has continued into adulthood, and I am thrilled to be passing this love of culture and the arts onto the next generation in my family.
Women of God can never be like women of the world. The world has enough women who are tough; we need women who are tender. There are enough women who are coarse; we need women who are kind. There are enough women who are rude; we need women who are refined. We have enough women of fame and fortune; we need more women of faith. We have enough greed; we need more goodness. We have enough vanity; we need more virtue. We have enough popularity; we need more purity. Margaret D. Nadauld
It's always nice to get others to enjoy the arts.
ReplyDeleteI was in my 20's when I finally figured out when other people my age talked about concerts, they didn't mean symphony.
ReplyDeleteGreat use of three words. Here is my attempt.
I liked to know about your interests!
ReplyDeletespoken inside the mind