Mahler's "Tragic" Symphony

Last night the Utah Symphony performed an epic concert at Abravanel Hall (stop reading right now and go here for tickets to tonight's performance).  The evening began with Symphony No. 6 "Morning" by Joseph Haydn and it was absolutely beautiful.  I always like pieces which feature the woodwind section (I played the clarinet in school) and I loved the themes played by the solo flute and oboe in the first movement and repeated in the fourth.  The theme played by a solo bassoon and a solo double bass in the third movement was also quite lovely as was a theme played by a solo horn accompanied by the harp.  I really enjoyed hearing so many different instruments featured.  All of the musicians of the Utah Symphony are so talented!  After the intermission, the orchestra played the spectacular Symphony No. 6 "Tragic" by Gustav Mahler (The Utah Symphony is performing the entire Mahler symphony cycle to commemorate its 75th Anniversary this year).  With the nickname "Tragic," I thought this piece would be moody, atmospheric, and mournful.  Nothing could be further from the truth!  It is bold, lively, and energetic with rousing themes played by the brass and timpani, almost as if Mahler is raging against the fickle hand of fate.  The first movement conjured up images of battle while the second movement denoted a beautiful and romantic interlude until the hammer of fate (literally) falls on the protagonist in the finale.  The percussion section featured a giant wooden box which was struck twice by an equally giant mallet (I read that each strike represents a tragedy in Mahler's life and that a third strike is sometimes included which represents his struggle with certain music institutions).  It was incredibly dramatic, to say the least!  I loved it but I was exhausted after listening to such an emotional piece and I can't imagine how the musicians felt at the end!  Again, it was an epic evening of music and you certainly don't want to miss it!

Mockingjay Double Feature

Last night's screenings of Mockingjay Part 1 and Part 2 brought to an end what amounts to an enormous commitment to a franchise; Hunger Games premiered in 2012 so I have been waiting four long years to see the conclusion (also, spending five hours to watch both films seemed like an enormous commitment as well.)  In the final analysis, it seemed pretty anticlimactic.  When I saw Part 1 last year, I was really surprised by how much I liked it considering that the book upon which it is based is my least favorite in the trilogy.  Apparently, what I disliked about the book was reserved for Part 2.  The second movie begins almost exactly where the first one ended (It was almost as if there was a short intermission in one long movie!) with Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) reeling from Peeta's (Josh Hutcherson) attack.  She finally decides that she, alone, must stop Snow (Donald Sutherland) once and for all by assassinating him.  She joins the rebels, including Gale (Liam Hemsworth) and Finnick (Sam Claflin) for a final assault on the Capitol with some fantastic action scenes, such as outrunning a tidal wave of oil and battling a series of mutants in the sewers, and a showdown with President Snow.  As exciting and intense as the battle scenes are, they are also somewhat underwhelming because the Capitol is already in ruins.  We don't get the satisfaction of watching the rebels destroy the city.  We also don't get the satisfaction of seeing the final battle because Katniss is knocked out by the explosion and, when she wakes up, it is all over.  Furthermore, without giving anything away, the final confrontation between Katniss and Snow is hardly satisfying, considering what she has been through.  Finally, the happy ending in a bucolic setting bathed in sunshine feels contrived to me.  These were all of my criticisms of the book so I'm not sure what I was expecting from a movie adaptation...Again, as I mentioned, I did enjoy all of the action scenes and I think the principal actors (most of the supporting actors have been reduced to cameos) give great performances as they grapple with themes of power and the abuse therof, but I am not sure that is enough after this much investment of time.  It was an awesome spectacle but I was a bit disappointed.

Note:  This was an advance screening with an energetic crowd yet there was no applause at the end.

Suffragette

Every year I teach the memoir Night by Elie Wiesel to my sophomores.  I am always amazed at their intense reaction to this book.  I sometimes think that my students know, intellectually, that the Holocaust happened but they don't really have an understanding of how it actually affected real people until they read about Elie's first-hand experiences in a concentration camp.  Last night I went to see the movie Suffragette and, like my students, I feel like I had an intellectual understanding of the fight for women's suffrage but I didn't really know the horror of what these women went through until I saw events depicted on the big screen.  This movie was a visceral experience for me.  The story revolves around Maud Watts (Carey Mulligan), a young woman who works in deplorable conditions at a laundry earning much less than her male counterparts.  She learns of the women's suffrage movement from her co-workers and eventually becomes caught up in the cause.  As she becomes more involved, she endures social ostracism, the loss of her job, and the loss of her family.  It is heartbreaking to see, especially when her husband takes away her son, and I was horrified at the treatment many women received in prison, particularly when they are force-fed during a hunger strike.  These events were so upsetting to me that I actually had tears in my eyes for much of the movie.  Mulligan gives an incredible performance as Maud and Helena Bonham Carter is perfect as a fellow suffragette.  Bonham Carter plays so many eccentric characters that it is easy to forget that she is an exceptionally talented actress.  Ben Whishaw was very effective as Sonny, Maud's husband, because I hated him by the end of the movie (I like him better as Q).  I found it a bit odd that Meryl Streep had less than five minutes of screen time as Emmeline Pankhurst, a noted real-life leader of the movement, because she was featured so heavily in the marketing of the movie.  Many critics feel that the narrative is, at times, very heavy-handed.   However, I feel that the honest depiction of the struggle was necessary to show someone like me that I shouldn't take my very privileged life for granted.  I highly recommend this movie, especially to young women.

Note:  I have never enjoyed being told what to do so I feel sure that, had I lived during this time period, I would have been a suffragette!

Bolero

When I was young, my Dad had a recording of various pieces of classical music programmed on the Moog synthesizer.  I enjoyed the entire recording but my favorite piece was Bolero by Maurice Ravel.  I absolutely loved it and I listened to it over and over again.  My favorite part was at the end when the synthesizer simulated applause.  I had no idea that I was listening to classical music; I just thought it was the coolest thing ever!  Now I know better so I always try to hear Bolero performed live whenever I get the chance and I had the chance to hear the Utah Symphony perform it last night.  The concert featured several works by Maurice Ravel including La Valse, which was lovely (especially the harps), Une barque sur l'ocean, which was very dynamic, and an incredible staging of the opera The Child and the Enchantments (featuring many wonderful soloists from the Utah Opera and the Choristers of The Madeleine Choir School).  I really enjoyed these pieces but, for me, the main event was Bolero.  I literally had goosebumps when I heard bits of the distinctive theme played while the orchestra was warming up before the concert!  It begins almost imperceptibly with a snare drum (playing the same rhythm throughout the entire piece) and then a melody is played by a solo flute.  This melody is repeated over and over by the various instruments in the orchestra (my favorite is the solo trombone), building in intensity and volume for 17 minutes until a dramatic crescendo at the end.  It is simply amazing and I am not exaggerating when I say that I could barely contain myself during the performance (I apologize to anyone sitting near me!).  If you have never heard Bolero performed live, do yourself a favor and go here for tickets to tonight's performance!  I am seriously thinking of going so I can hear it again!

Note:  I went to this concert specifically to hear Bolero but I would also recommend it for the incredible performance of The Child of the Enchantments (I absolutely loved Derrick Parker as the Tree), a piece I was entirely unfamiliar with.  One of the things I love most about the Utah Symphony is that I am always introduced to new pieces and composers that become favorites!

Make A Wish

Last week I had an absolutely incredible experience with my officers and the entire student body of Hunter High School!  At our Leadership Conference last summer, one of the workshops was on service.  I sent several of my students to this workshop and they were incredibly inspired by the presentation by Make-A-Wish Utah.  One of my officers, in particular, was really passionate about working with Make-A-Wish so we invited Daniel Dudley, a representative from the organization, to speak to our class.  My officers immediately began to plan for a week of activities to raise money to sponsor a wish.

Over fall break, Daniel arranged for us to visit the Make-A-Wish House.  I was amazed at my students' dedication to this project on a day off from school!  A typical wish costs approximately $5000.00 and my students committed to sponsor a seven-year old boy named Carson.  He has a brain tumor and his wish was to go to the Florida theme parks.  (We learned that Disneyland and Disney World are the most popular wishes).  I was a little bit concerned that we wouldn't be able to raise that much money but Daniel assured me that any money we raised would go to a fund and that Carson would get his wish!  My students, however, were convinced that they could do it!  We started our "Wish Week" last Monday and started collecting donations every day at lunch.  We hung a giant thermometer with various challenges which the officers would complete in our culminating assembly if certain dollar amounts were raised.  When each goal was met, the officers would fill in the thermometer.  By Thursday afternoon, all but two of our milestones had been met.  We also had a Dodge Ball tournament on Thursday with many of the clubs and organizations participating with teams (we also had several teams from our rival, Cyprus High School, participate).  Dodge Ball was a lot of fun and a great success because we raised $250 from registration fees!  On Friday we wore our Wish Week shirts and decorated the gym with blue balloons and streamers (blue is Carson's favorite color).

We introduced Daniel who spoke about what Make-A-Wish Utah is all about and then he introduced Carson, who didn't feel very well, and his family.  The students responded with a standing ovation! His Dad spoke about everything that Carson has been through and what the hope of having Carson's wish granted has meant to him and their family.  I have never heard our student body so quiet before.  I have chills just remembering that moment!  We have been talking about Carson all week but being able to meet him was really inspiring.  The officers took buckets into the crowd and had a "Miracle Minute."  We asked the crowd to donate as much money as possible in one minute.

We had several officers quickly count the money from the "Miracle Minute" and we raised over $1000 which met our next milestone!

Then we had the officers complete the challenges.  For raising $250, the freshmen and sophomore officers had to eat dog food!  (They came up with these challenges!)

For $500, all of the boys on student council had their legs waxed (this was hilarious because their reactions were so dramatic).

For $750, several officers had to eat mystery pies.  She got the mayonnaise one!

For $1000, several officers had to drink raw eggs.  (They were processed eggs because salmonella!)

For $2000, we all had to eat crickets!  This was the challenge that Carson was looking forward to the most!  (Just so you know, they are disgusting!)

For $3000, we had our football coach get dunked by ice!  He was a good sport!

After the challenges, we presented a check for $4500 to Carson and Make-A-Wish Utah!  I was so overcome by this moment because I doubted that we would be able to raise this much money!  My officers and the student body of HHS proved me wrong!

Then, Carson's Wish Team granted his wish with a special present from Mickey Mouse!

I was trying to keep my composure throughout the assembly but I absolutely lost it when Carson, who didn't feel well, took the microphone and told the crowd, "Thank you," in a tiny little voice!  I was not alone because all of my students throughout the rest of the school day told me that they cried during that moment as well.  All of the hard work was worth it!

KTVX was there to film the assembly and interviewed Emily, our Student Body President.  You can watch the segment here. (Emily is getting really good at speaking to the media.  Go here to see her interview on KUTV about our Homecoming Queen).

I am so incredibly proud of my officers and the whole student body of HHS!  It was definitely a magical experience to have our school be so unified in one goal.  We hope you have a great time at Disney World, Carson!

Note:  The Spirit Can made another appearance!  It has become extremely popular with students!

Also, go here to find out more about Make-A-Wish Utah.