Winter Ball 2017

Last night was the Winter Ball for Bountiful High School.  Tashena went with a boy named Josh and her group of friends.  I absolutely loved her dress!

The boutonniere!

The corsage.

Tashena and Josh.

Sydney and Kaleb

The girls.

The boys.

The whole group!

I really love Tashena's sense of style!  She picks the most beautiful dresses!

The Man Who Invented Christmas

Yesterday afternoon (I broke my rule about not seeing movies on a Saturday afternoon and I bitterly regret it) I saw the delightful and charming movie The Man Who Invented Christmas.  It tells the story of how Charles Dickens (Dan Stevens) came to write the beloved classic A Christmas Carol.  As someone who has seen this play performed more times than I can count, I absolutely loved seeing how Dickens found inspiration for the story and I loved how the characters came to life as he was writing, especially Christopher Plummer as Ebeneezer Scrooge.  As Dickens struggles to finish the book, certain autobiographical details are revealed which suggest that the book is about the reclamation of his soul as much as it is Scrooge's and the scenes where he makes amends are just as affecting as those where Scrooge does it in the book.  Dan Stevens is so charming in the role and Christopher Plummer is fantastic, as ever.  The production design is very successful in bringing Dickensian London to life and I especially loved the lighting throughout.  This movie is just the thing to give you a boost of Christmas spirit!  I would have enjoyed it immensely were it not for the theater full of kids under five who had absolutely no interest in this movie.  This is not really a movie for young children because a little familiarity with the source material is required to understand what is going on.  I highly recommend it with that proviso.

Note:  Unruly and disruptive children are the bane of my existence (hence my rule about Saturday matinees).  The teacher in me wanted to quiet them!

Saint-Saens' Organ Symphony

It was an evening featuring the music of Camille Saint-Saens last night at Abravanel Hall and it was absolutely lovely.  Several years ago one of my colleagues, knowing how much I enjoy classical music, recommended a concert featuring Saint-Saens' Organ Symphony and I enjoyed it immensely.  Now I try to see it whenever I can and when I learned that the Utah Symphony would be performing it this season I immediately got a ticket.  While I picked this concert for the Organ Symphony, I really loved the other Saint-Saens pieces that were performed as well.  The orchestra began with the "Bacchanale" from the opera Samson and Delilah.  I had never heard this before and it is incredibly exotic and stirring.  The finale is absolutely spectacular featuring a crescendo of timpani!  This was followed by Trois Tableaux symphoniques d'apres La Foi, which is incidental music for a play of the same name by Eugene Brieux, and I have to say that this is now one of my favorite pieces because it is beautiful.  I loved the themes played by the harp which are also incredibly exotic.  Harpist Louise Vickerman gave me goosebumps!  I also really loved the themes played by the woodwinds and the trombone solo.  After the intermission the orchestra was joined by Paul Jacobs, the chair of the organ department at The Julliard School, for Symphony No. 3, better known as the Organ Symphony.  It was magnificent!  I especially loved the second movement because there is a theme played by both the organ and the strings in unison with an accompaniment of timpani and cymbals.  So dramatic!  I enjoyed this entire concert so much and I recommend getting a ticket to tonight's performance of the same program (go here for tickets).

Note:  This concert was recorded for commercial release as part of the Utah Symphony's project to become the first American symphony to record all five of Saint-Saens' symphonies.  I will definitely be purchasing these CDs because Saint-Saens is becoming one of my favorite composers.

Festival of Trees 2017

Last night I volunteered at the Festival of Trees for the ninth year in a row!  This is such a worthwhile cause and I am happy to be able to help each year as a hostess.  Hundreds of trees are decorated by individuals and donated for auction.  They are then put on display for the public to view and all proceeds go directly to Primary Children's Hospital.  After my shift I like to wander around and look at all of the trees displayed (and get a sweet roll).  Here are some of my favorite trees.

This was probably my favorite tree!

The sports junkie in me loved this one!

This is another favorite.  I love the birdbath!

This is for my Mom who is an Aggie!

This was a popular tree in my area because every little kid wanted to sit in the chair (I don't blame them).

This was the most popular tree in my area.  It is in honor of a little boy named Carson who loved going camping.  One lady started crying when I told her the story.

This year I was able to see the gingerbread houses and the Death Star was my favorite.  Obviously!  The Festival of Trees will run until Saturday at the South Towne Expo Center.  Go here for more information.