July week 1

I had a rare opportunity to attend an orchestra last Saturday at the KLCC Philharmonic Hall. I was actually a replacement for one of my brother's friends who pulled out, so the 'free' ticket was given to me. Along with my brother's three friends, we went to Suria KLCC earlier for dinner at Ben's Restaurant before the performance. I totally didn't expect to have had a chance to eat in such a lavish restaurant! I count myself very lucky. I hope my overly excited antics didn't scare my brother's friend whom I had just met. The dress code for the evening was smart casual and it was required for us to dress accordingly if not we would be prohibited to enter. After dinner, we rushed to the grand hall for the orchestra performance, yes rush! We were one of those few who entered into the hall just a minute before the show started! Many eyes were on us as we with our thick faces found our seats and quickly sat down. The conductor and the special guest violinist took to the stage and soon beautiful music at its finest filled the hall. Every one there was soaking in the music from beautiful pieces that was supposed to be rendition of Bethovan's classic pieces. I don't doubt that they were of Bethovans', it's just that I wouldn't know because basically I don't know anything about music. I look around me and I saw a man sitting across me being so drowned in the music, as his head slightly tilted down, the emotions in his eyes followed the emotions of the music and his fingers fidgeted not out of nervousness but in sheer immersion into the music. I was amazed at this man and many others whose expressions shows how much they appreciated the music in their ears. And there I thought I could fake how much I 'loved' and understood music by closing my eyes and pretend that I was under the spell of the orchestra with my ears all perked up to the music. But hey, I'm not too bad, I tried to feel what the other audiences were feeling and wanted to understand the beauty of the music, though I admit I could never reach that level of emotion as of the conductor as he conducted the orchestra with all his heart and soul. All conductors do. At the same time, I took advantage of being in the hall to observe not only the passionate audiences but also the fine interior of the hall. I got to see for real the different seatings according to class and boxes as they call it catered for a more private viewing space. Being there reminded me of 'The Phantom of the Opera' that I studied for Literature but sadly there wasn't any chandelier in that place. Have I mentioned that from my seat the immediate view is the legs of the musicians with their polished shoes? LOL! We couldn't see beyond the row of violinists, basically the violin was the only instrument we could identify and maybe a trumpet at the back. We had to make do with that as we paid for the cheapest seating.=) This is definitely one of my precious experiences though not perfect, but hey, how many of us can say that we actually went to an orchestra? :-D