An Evening to Remember

Last night we attended a concert of the 5 Browns – three sisters and two brothers who studied simultaneously at Julliard School of Music. Having one child accepted there is quite something, but five?! An incredible feat!

Now you have to understand, I love to play the piano and took lessons for 13 years but I did NOT enjoy my classical pieces at all. Give me a hymn, teach me a few techniques and tell me to make an arrangement and I was happy. But show me Bach, Beethoven or Gershwin and I labored over those pieces for weeks and sometimes months! But when we found out about this awesome once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, I knew I wanted to go whether I enjoyed the musical style or not. And I knew that I wanted my kids to go and experience this with me. It was too good of an opportunity to miss.

It was to be an evening out with friends – Ball State University is practically their backyard. We planned ahead, purchased tickets instead of waiting to get them at the door and thought of nothing or little else (except maybe a little worry that everyone in this household was going to get sick since Tony was in bed last weekend with a fever…) Unfortunately, on Monday the week of the concert, our friend’s mother was given two days to live and they made a hasty trip to Michigan to be with her. (She left this world within hours of their arrival at her bedside.)

We were now on our own. Without them in attendance, the evening didn’t promise to be half as fun. Kerrigan would have been much more content to while away the time sitting with Eleanor or Katie than between her mom and dad. Britnee and Janae would have been happy to have Kayla between them for two hours, whispering and giggling about this and that. And how in the world would we find humor in a classical piano concert without Mark’s running commentary?

On the 50 mile trip over, Tony and I were dreading the evening ahead. After waiting in the foyer for over an hour before the auditorium was opened we found seats with a nice view and on the end so we wouldn’t have to crawl over anyone. Minutes before the concert was to begin the entire crowd was given instructions to scoot to the middle because “every seat in the house was sold.” Not a good start when we paid decent money for our tickets and felt like we should be the ones to choose our seat, not the late comers. But whatever. (I should mention that this was Ball State’s fault not the performers.)

At last the Browns were introduced and took their places at two 9 foot and three 7.5 foot Steinway concert grands nestled together as though they were pieces of a puzzle. They began to play their first song. It went on without end. As Tony caught my eye over Kerrigan’s head I thought, “This concert is going to last forever!” I didn't see any songs on the program that I was familiar with and I was bummed that they were only doing four songs together – the rest were solos, duets and one trio.

By the third song, it was obvious that our family is not cultured. Our youngest, sitting between us, had pulled up both little trays on the theater seats, (think university lecture hall) had an elbow propped on each with her chin in her hands looking very bored. When I glanced down at her, she proceeded to add a little drama by faking a yawn and patting her mouth with her little hand and rolling her eyes for effect. I about died from holding in my laughter.

Song number four turned my thoughts around. It was my personal favorite – Melody’s performance of “The Swan”. And from this point on I began to enjoy myself.

Kerrigan made it through the program thanks to the purchase of Skittles and bottled water at Intermission. And she didn’t fall asleep and start snoring until the very last song. The rest of us were eventually won over with the Browns’ very warm, personable demeanor. We enjoyed the variation of performances and found their explanation of the background behind each piece helpful in appreciating and enjoying the musical selections.

My own special highlight of the evening was when I, after being instructed that this was a no photography or video event, was determined that I would sneak ONE picture at the end. But I was so captivated by the last song (and loving my life enough not to be sure if it was worth the risk to embarrass my husband) that I didn’t get it. When they stood to take their bow, I contemplated pulling out my camera but didn’t. Then they came back to take another bow after the applause continued along with a standing ovation, so I grabbed my camera from my purse. I knew that something else had flown out of my purse but didn’t take the time to figure out what. I was pushing the power button to no avail when Kerrigan started scrambling around collecting and handing me batteries. Tony hissed, “That’s what you get for trying to break the rules!” They came back for an encore and I was able to get my batteries in place in time to capture a blurry photo.

It really did turn out to be a great evening after all and one I won’t forget anytime soon!