Culture Events

1. Notre Dame organ concert.
Every week Notre Dame has Oregon Recitals, so I decided to jump on the opportunity thinking it would be like the Oregon from the conference center. When I arrived I went and sat next to the front so that I would have great seats for the show. When the show started I could not see the Oregon player anywhere. I was so disappointed in this. The Oregon is such a complicated instrument that requires so much focus and precision that it is one of my favorites to see played. Another down side was that the Oregon was all the way at the back of the church and the pipes were kind of small so they didn’t reach to far. I was really taken back by this because I am used to Oregon’s that are small and played in small venues or huge Oregon’s that overpower a whole congregation. I enjoyed the concert but I would not go again.

2. Percussion Concert
I had the great opportunity to go to a percussion performance in a cool venue in Paris. I felt like a true Parisian since there were only a small group of Americans and I was one of them. It was a dark night club that had powerful spotlights on each performer so it was all you could see. One of the cultural differences is that when someone is performing the French are very quit and respectful, they don't make a single noise. It is a nice change from chatty, loud American performances.

3. Musical Fireside
Another one of my favorite cultural events was a musical fireside that I attended. It had a violinists, 2 harp players, a piano player, a flute player, and a singer. It was all on french and really beautiful. It was the only time that I didn't feel lost at a church event in 3 months because I just listened to the music. I really enjoyed this fireside and thought all the songs were top notch.

4. Siddharta Ballet
I did ballet for 9 years and spent a lot of time studying the art form but surprisingly I find it really hard to watch. So I was dreading going to a ballet at the Bastille but of course I ended up really enjoying the dancing and hating the music. The choreography was really pretty and didn't seem repetitive at all which is hard to do with a ballet. The music didn't seem to go along with the dancing and that really bothered me. The music ended up giving me a headache but I was so happy to see a Ballet in Paris.

5. Jazz restaurant
I decided to go to another jazz show since the last one I attended was so entertaining and relaxing. It was at a cafe called Universel, when we walked in the whole place was completely empty except the performers setting up and one server. The whole place had black and white strips everywhere, which made it quite trippy but gave it a really cool feel. There was a piano player, a singer, a bass player and a drummer. They were all well aged which came through with their years of experience while they played. The singer was pretty awful but the instruments and atmosphere made up for it.

6. Syphony Fantastique
Symphony Fantastic: Symphony Fantastic was the first symphony I have been too other then the Idaho Falls symphony. I really enjoyed the Idaho Falls symphony and thought it was great but, it didn’t compare to this show. I loved the whole performance and really enjoyed knowing the back story behind the piece. It made it a lot easier to understand and appreciate the music and sound a lot more. I would love to go see another symphony because of this performance, it really broadened my horizons.