Media Check:
Car: I actually listened to the radio this morning. Howsabout that!
Office: Still stuck on AOL Showtune station
VCR: Last night's Survivor and Apprentice for the Dear Partner.
DVD: Empty
Last night we presented the Rochester Philharmonic on our mainstage. The program was lovely, and not terribly challenging (a Mozart overture, some Brahms and Dvorak). But as we are one of the campuses celebrating what is called "The American Democracy Project" I had requested that they include something appropriate. The ADP is not concerned with rah-rah patriotism, but rather being a way to ingrain in students of a certain generation (namely the current one) ways in which they can become civically engaged. Volunteerism, voting (natch), and basically believing in something (oooh, a COMPANY reference). The ADP says nothing about its components being pro-America, or even American at all, but of course most have been. About America, that is.
At any rate, as their final piece, the RPO (Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, in Rochestnut lingo) chose to play a fairly new orchestral suite based on songs from 1600 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE. It was lovely. Not fabulous, but certainly lovely. I never have picked up A WHITE HOUSE CANTATA, but was familiar with "Take Care of This House" and "Lud's Wedding" from several recordings, but the final theme was based on ""To Make Us Proud," with which I was unfamiliar. It was very "Make Our Garden Grow," but still nice.
Overall, I don't think it works as an orchestral setting, but it was still nice to hear Bernstein's music.
It's a shame he didn't write more for the stage.