An evening at the Music Center at Strathmore

Last night my grandmother treated my sister and me to a concert at the Music Center at Strathmore in Bethesda, MD. My grandmother lives about two hours south in Virginia and I see her only occasionally during the year and in the summers when I go down to her lake house. So this was a unique occasion for us to dress up and see a professional performance. I wasn't sure what to expect but only knew that there was a choir involved. Group performing was the Washington Bach Consort, a choral and orchestra group dedicated to playing Baroque music. They performed Bach's Christmas Oratorio, a long series of Cantata's originally created for time when Christmas did not fall near a Sunday. The oratorio orates the story of the birth of Christ Jesus.

I'm not too knowledgeable of the classical music genre and I don't listen to it often, but I really enjoyed the visual and auditory experience last night in this concert hall. First, the place is absolutely stunning in it's architectural design - I felt like I was walking into heaven. Really the appearance is quite simple yet exquisite and elegant. Second the acoustics were incredible. Third, we were able to follow the words of the concert in our program where there both the German lyrics and the English translation was provided so I was learning a lot as we went along. Plus, it kept me from zoning out and not being aware of the message. The singers and musicians were extremely talented also.

The best part was how happy my grandma was. She just recently got back into playing her cello after 30 some years and she's quite talented and even a little celebrity in her small town in Virginia. I think it meant a lot to her to see this performance and share her love for the music with her granddaughters.