omaha

i had heard about omaha's new hall, but finally playing here really exceeded my expectations. more recently, someone told me it has the 5th best acoustics in the world (seriously). i'm not sure who came up w/ that but it definitely sounds good in there. from on stage, everything was so clear (even things like chairs squeaking). in the second half, instead of the tchaikovsky, we played symphonie fantastique by berlioz. although it's been a few weeks since our last performance, it didn't feel like it once we got started. everything went smoothly.

before the concert, yumi kendall, don liuzzi and i participated in a pre-concert reception for one of our sponsors, CertainTeed, where i was asked to say a few words. as i am terrible at public speaking, i was so thankful to have yumi and don there to help out during the q&a. together, i think we made a pretty good team.

after the concert, several of us stuck around to meet w/ a number of young musicians, many of whom are members of the omaha youth symphonies. their ages ranged from middle school to high school seniors. they were full of questions and so excited to talk w/ us. it's always great to talk and work w/ kids who are so passionate about music.

after meeting w/ the students, a large group of us met up at omaha prime, the steak house derek had found. apparently, they closed at 9:30 but stayed open to serve us. i didn't eat lunch or dinner in preparation for it. i was absolutely starving and my stomach made all sorts of noises during the mozart (and remember what i said about how clear everything sounded on stage?). but it was worth it. i hope we can come back here someday to play in this wonderful hall again and feast on omaha steaks afterwards.