Getting Settled in Minnesota, Part 2
I’m in the fourth week of living in Minnesota and I wish I could say I had started to settle into a routine but alas I’m in the midst of a job hunt after my hours were reduced by 75% on Tuesday at my now previous job. Keep your fingers crossed for me that I’m able to make something happen quickly.
But prior to this unexpected catastrophe I’ve engaged in some fantastic music here in the twin cities. The first weekend we got here we went to the Minnesota Orchestra for a concert that included Mendelssohn’s The Hebrides Overture, James MacMillan’s Trombone Concerto, and Dmitri Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5 in D minor. If you have never moved from living somewhere with an incredible orchestra (Baltimore Symphony) to being stuck in a place for years with a passable at best orchestra (Austin Symphony Orchestra followed by the North Carolina Symphony) then you’re a lucky individual indeed. To go to an orchestra concert where every ensemble member was playing at an incredibly high level after seven years of not having regular access to that kind of concert was an absolute revelation. The Minnesota Orchestra is top tier and even when playing a piece of music that is absolute garbage, looking at that trombone concert by James MacMillan, they still committed to every single note and played the absolute crap out of it. Also the Shostakovich is an absolute bop. I was literally bobbing my head along to the music and chuckling at some of the quite sarcastic military inspired references in the piece.
The next day we visited the Minnesota Zoo which was delightful. I have been to a lot of zoos over the years but not many in more northern climates. Rather than write about all the animals it feels like it makes more sense to just share some pictures. So enjoy!
The rest of week 2 went by reasonably uneventfully. We visited the University of Minnesota Arboretum which I may write more about another time. I reconnected with a few friends and went for walks on a few trails around the city. But the highlight was the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra concert we went to that weekend. Anthony McGill was in town to be the soloist with the orchestra and play two clarinet concertos including the Mozart which I had never gotten to hear live before. His playing was so gorgeous and it truly was everything you could ask for in a performance.
One of the most exciting things for me, especially considering my current state of unemployment, is how affordable and accessible the SPCO makes their concerts. They have multiple programs for discounted tickets and it’s really refreshing to be able to go to classical concerts at the highest professional level and not break the bank to get tickets. We’re actually going back to the Ordway Center in downtown St. Paul tonight to see the SPCO perform a program of Mozart, Wagner, and Haydn.
Well that’s that for my first couple of weeks in the twin cities. Moving forward you can expect posts about what I’m listening to, what I’m working on, and anything else I feel like writing about!