On December 16, 2012, the Concord, Massachusetts performing community at the 51 Walden arts center presented Menotti’s Amahl. It was a fundraiser for the center (FOPAC), and was a big draw in its second annual presentation. The soloists were local opera and theater performers, among the best around. Orchestra and chorus members and dancers came from the 51 Walden performing groups and the greater Boston musical community. Our conductor and our director brought the production to a high-quality level, and the young girl who sang Amahl gave a very moving performance.

It felt good to be a participant in this good-spirited, enthusiastic group of performers, with many excited children and adults in the audience. (I played the horn part in the orchestra.) Even while we mourned the Newtown shootings, which happened just before our dress rehearsal, I took great comfort in the community we build together to make music.

I wanted to write about this back on Dec 17, but in my next post, you can read why I couldn’t manage it. Now that I finally did, I was tempted to pre-date it to then, but that’s cheating, right?