Oh Right, The Kennedy Center

Hmm, where did I leave off? Sunday afternoon we had tickets to see "A Family for Baby Grand" at the Kennedy Center concert hall. It was advertised for ages 6 and up so we brought the girls, leaving the boys for the afternoon with grandma and grandpa.

But not everyone left the little kids at home and I rather wish they had, they -were- noisy. I know my boys would have enjoyed the performance, but it would have involved more explaining resulting in more distraction for us and our neighbors.
So with the orchestra and three actors switching as voices for the instruments, we heard through words and music the story of Baby Grand. She's bought from an antique store to make her debut at the concert hall. Understandably she's nervous and scared as she leaves her Concert Grand mama behind, but mama tells her that about the family of instruments who will care for Baby. As the concert time approaches, the audience meets the various instruments right along with Baby Grand, and as each instrument was brought into the story, the musician would stand with his or her instrument. Then we would listen to a piece of music featuring that instrument. The story finishes with the orquestra working and playing together in the concert.
Following the hour long performance was an open Q&A session. A tuba player was the most popular questionee, along with the conductor Mr. Emil Le Cou. Of course both the girls had questions but neither was chosen, a first for Katherine. They did get to ask directly once the official session was over; Rebecca asked the conductor why he wanted to conduct (she got the pat answer: I love music) and Katherine asked the tuba player if it was a strain to play his instrument (it's more a strain to lift and carry the tuba than it is to play it).
So we departed the red carpeted halls, boarded the shuttle to the metro station and hopped on the train. We were back in record time. The boys had fun at the pet store and getting haircuts, and the girls had souvenir pencils from a very fun show. They both behaved like young ladies and made us proud.