I really enjoyed the NY Phil performance on Saturday evening. I especially enjoyed the opening piece because the Marriage of Figaro Overture was something I played on the stage of Hill Auditorium 35 years ago as a clarinet player in my junior high school symphonic band for the Midwestern Conference. The piece was just as I remembered it — or almost just as I remembered it!

Our conductor had an album made of our performances that year and the album jacket has a picture of us performing on stage at Hill Auditorium with notes that read “it was a great honor to perform in this beautiful auditorium” and “we will remember this experience for a lifetime.” I think that was my very first visit to UM and I still remember the experience vividly — from entering Hill Auditorium on a cold Saturday early morning in January 1978 through the back door into the cramped backstage area and then walking through the stage door onto the big stage, where everyone immediately looked up and around at the organ pipes and the high ceiling and then out toward the seats and the two balconies. Our conductor had to loudly tap his baton on his stand and remind us to sit and focus.

I feel fortunate to be able to add special new Hill Auditorium experiences every year — thanks in large part to UMS.