Tea and Symphony Concert

The Adelaide Symphony Orchestra appears at budget-priced concerts at the ASO Hindley Street Studio.

These are called Tea and Symphony Concerts and happen 2 to 3 times per year.

I went to my first one today : 10:30 a.m. Wednesday 3 December 2008 (3/12/2008).

The price of a ticket was $15.00 with no booking charge.

I was surprised.

The ASO members who conduct and perform the concert were much younger and much more skilled than I would ordinarily have expected young musicians to be.

The concert was divided into 4 main pieces.

About 300 People attended.

A new ASO member on the clarinet gave a spectacular opening to the first two pieces, showing that the clarinet still has a well-deserved place in classical music.

The final piece was Elgar's Orchestra for Strings and lasted about 15 minutes.

Most of us in the audience were quiet at all the right times and gave appropriate applause with clapping at the end of each section.

(The gurgling and bubbling of overheated water urns in the back gave some excellent accompaniment too.)

Most ASO music is flowing, streaming, not a music for strutting around and jumping up and down about, but more for meaningful meditation and solemn review.

All in all, I rate this as being the best full orchestra performance I have attended in a while.

If at all possible : attend the Tea and Symphony Concert with the ASO on Hindley Street, Adelaide Central Business District.