(no subject)
Time to say goodbye to my userpics. How am I going to whittle it down to only 3?
Today our Performing Arts Administration class went to the offices of the San Francisco Symphony. I drove Jenni and Ali to Tracy to meet Alexis, who drove us the rest of the way into SF. I must say I was glad; I've never been a passenger into SF and always get a little nervous driving there, though I've passed Davies Hall and it wouldn't have been too hard to find. We arrived about 30 minutes early, so we took a little walk around the place to grab something to drink.. lots of cute little shops, restaurants and cafes around the place. But what would I expect? It's San Francisco.
We were escorted around the Symphony by Ronald Gallman, the Director of Education. He was such a nice guy. He took us backstage, and we got to step onto the stage of Davies.. it was all I could do not to start my jury piece right there. He was talking in a regular level voice and it carried throughout the hall... I was thinking, Kathleen Battle, Janet Baker, Jessye Norman.. all of them have been on this stage! Just one note and I can say I have too! :)
He then took us to the front of the building, introduced us to HR, showed us the hall from the seating section and took us out on the balcony. It was so cool that they actually have outdoor balconies... great views of the city from there. Then we went to the Wattis Room, their little private room for major donors, and we talked about the reasons why arts organizations get involved in education and all that stuff.
After a couple hours at that, he took us up to the administrative offices of the Symphony. We got to meet a few of the people there- he'd alerted them all that we were coming. The development director stopped and talked to us for a few minutes, and we talked with a fellow from the American Symphony Orchestra League. Interestingly, he used to work in biological research or something and totally switched gears into this field. We got to see more of the staging areas, the music library, the orchestra's relaxation room... at the end we ended up back in the Wattis Room to ask more questions and gather our things, and he gave us all little harmonicas as parting gifts. It's something they used last year in their education programs, and I thought it was nice of him to send us off with something, heh. Also a very smart way to get kids involved in music... harmonica is easy to learn, and it teaches them to care for an instrument as well (which he said was exactly the purpse).
We went back to Professor Reed's home for pizza and a "debriefing", and then Alexis took us on a little tour of Berkeley (Reed lives in Oakland, right on the border between the two cities). I'd mentioned that I'd never been there and she couldn't believe it. It was a cute little city... Jenni is graduating this year, and she and a couple of other girls are thinking about Berkeley as a place in the Bay Area that they could move to. We were going to park and take a walk around, but Alexis had Peter's big Tahoe and we couldn't find a space. Ooh, well... Katie got a job at Cal Performances as the Develoment Director, so I will probably head over there at least once next year to catch one of their concerts.
On the way back I was sitting up front with Lex... she was telling me stories about an ex and this strange girl.. I thought stuff like that was kind of soap opera-ish, but apparently it happens. Heh. Luckily she's got a good thing with Peter... though I'm curious how old he is, because I know he's older than she is, he is (was) her CPA and she's known him since she was 10. I think when she says older, she means older... I know he's been married once, and he's been a friend of their family.
Ooh, well, it was really a fun day. I was kind of dreading it, but it was much more informative and interesting than I was expecting. And I love San Francisco.
Oh, and Alexis said she never would have guessed I was 25, because I'd mentioned my age last week in class. So pleased. :)
Today our Performing Arts Administration class went to the offices of the San Francisco Symphony. I drove Jenni and Ali to Tracy to meet Alexis, who drove us the rest of the way into SF. I must say I was glad; I've never been a passenger into SF and always get a little nervous driving there, though I've passed Davies Hall and it wouldn't have been too hard to find. We arrived about 30 minutes early, so we took a little walk around the place to grab something to drink.. lots of cute little shops, restaurants and cafes around the place. But what would I expect? It's San Francisco.
We were escorted around the Symphony by Ronald Gallman, the Director of Education. He was such a nice guy. He took us backstage, and we got to step onto the stage of Davies.. it was all I could do not to start my jury piece right there. He was talking in a regular level voice and it carried throughout the hall... I was thinking, Kathleen Battle, Janet Baker, Jessye Norman.. all of them have been on this stage! Just one note and I can say I have too! :)
He then took us to the front of the building, introduced us to HR, showed us the hall from the seating section and took us out on the balcony. It was so cool that they actually have outdoor balconies... great views of the city from there. Then we went to the Wattis Room, their little private room for major donors, and we talked about the reasons why arts organizations get involved in education and all that stuff.
After a couple hours at that, he took us up to the administrative offices of the Symphony. We got to meet a few of the people there- he'd alerted them all that we were coming. The development director stopped and talked to us for a few minutes, and we talked with a fellow from the American Symphony Orchestra League. Interestingly, he used to work in biological research or something and totally switched gears into this field. We got to see more of the staging areas, the music library, the orchestra's relaxation room... at the end we ended up back in the Wattis Room to ask more questions and gather our things, and he gave us all little harmonicas as parting gifts. It's something they used last year in their education programs, and I thought it was nice of him to send us off with something, heh. Also a very smart way to get kids involved in music... harmonica is easy to learn, and it teaches them to care for an instrument as well (which he said was exactly the purpse).
We went back to Professor Reed's home for pizza and a "debriefing", and then Alexis took us on a little tour of Berkeley (Reed lives in Oakland, right on the border between the two cities). I'd mentioned that I'd never been there and she couldn't believe it. It was a cute little city... Jenni is graduating this year, and she and a couple of other girls are thinking about Berkeley as a place in the Bay Area that they could move to. We were going to park and take a walk around, but Alexis had Peter's big Tahoe and we couldn't find a space. Ooh, well... Katie got a job at Cal Performances as the Develoment Director, so I will probably head over there at least once next year to catch one of their concerts.
On the way back I was sitting up front with Lex... she was telling me stories about an ex and this strange girl.. I thought stuff like that was kind of soap opera-ish, but apparently it happens. Heh. Luckily she's got a good thing with Peter... though I'm curious how old he is, because I know he's older than she is, he is (was) her CPA and she's known him since she was 10. I think when she says older, she means older... I know he's been married once, and he's been a friend of their family.
Ooh, well, it was really a fun day. I was kind of dreading it, but it was much more informative and interesting than I was expecting. And I love San Francisco.
Oh, and Alexis said she never would have guessed I was 25, because I'd mentioned my age last week in class. So pleased. :)