First Impressions of Lexington Philharmonic

While walking into the large, old cathedral style church where the Lexington Philharmonic auditions were being held, I had many thoughts racing through my mind. "What will I be doing? Who will I get to talk to? Can I watch the auditions?" I already had somewhat of an idea to what I was getting myself into primarily from the research I had done on the organization and what I had learned on my orientation date. One thing that initially caught my attention while looking through the official website of Lexington Philharmonic is the history. The Philharmonic began in 1961 when they were creating background music for a film being produced by UK students. I appreciate how they started out small with only volunteer artists, but have grown into an organization that attracts many music loving families. Another thing that caught my attention was the vibrant colors and pictures they included on the website; although it appears very professional, the web designers included an artistic element that their primary audience would enjoy.         

During my orientation I learned more about some of the events they host around Lexington. One of the more intriguing events I saw was the PB&J series; elementary age students could learn about different instruments while snacking on PB&Js and listening to a guest performance by a popular classical music group. I will get to have the opportunity to volunteer at one of these events and I am so excited to be able to work with the kids. I did not originally expect that I would get to work with children at all considering orchestra seems to be geared towards a more mature audience, but I am very excited to be able to incorporate working with children into my volunteering as well. This past Sunday afternoon I got to work the oboe auditions. I was surprised how much it reminded me of dance auditions when I was in middle and high school. Similarly to the auditions I am familiar with, each contestant had a number and one at a time they would be called into a room and be judged on how they play sections from three different songs. I had the chance to speak with each of the contestants because my job was to lead them from their audition, back to their private warm up room. In one case I got to listen to a conversation between two friends who were both auditioning and once again the similarities between my dance try outs were incredible. For example, after one man auditioned he told his friend to watch out because the room is very "boomy," and in dance we would warm our friends if the floor is slippery. One of the pieces I got to hear being played was Ravel- Bolero which was a familiar melody I enjoyed listening to. I believe my first volunteering opportunity at the Philharmonic was an opportunity for me to connect with musicians and find a common ground with them even though I am not a musician myself. I often found myself getting nervous for them before they walked into the audition and celebrating with them if they feel like they had performed well. I am looking forward to the next time I get to volunteer, which will be at an actual concert. Hopefully I will have discovered once again that I can relate to the artists and experience the moment along with them.