The Symphony
September 14, 2008
On Friday night, Tim and I went to see the Grand Rapids Symphony. It was my first time to an orchestra of any kind. Classical music isn’t my favorite, but I enjoyed it. We sat about 6 rows from the front, orchestra level. We basically had a really good view of the violins, violas, cellos, and timpani, but couldn’t really see any of the other instruments.
The “main attraction” was the timpani. Timpani are large “kettle drums,” which, unlike most drums, have a definite pitch. The timpanist tunes the drums with a pedal, often during the performance. The neat part about this concerto was that it was written specifically for the timpani, and the composer was actually at the performance in person. He stepped out on stage for a few minutes, to explain the piece, “Raise the Roof,” and had the timpanist give examples of different timpani techniques, and show what sounds could be produced by each type of mallet. There are normally 5 or 6 timpani in a set, so the timpanist has to sit in a swivel chair and spin around in order to reach each drum. It was pretty cool to watch.
As cool as the timpani was, I enjoyed watching the violins the most. I really wanted a violin when I was little, because it is such a graceful instrument, and it sounds so beautiful. I would still love to learn to play someday.
