Yes! Last night defiantly reminded me of playing in my middle school and high school orchestras. I haven’t played since graduation! One time, we tried to play with my school band for a concert. It really made me appreciate last night and how difficult it must have been for the orchestra, choir, and soloists to all stay together on the same beat.

I thought that Nadine Sierra was absolutely amazing! My only wish was that she sang more! Before tonight, I had never been to a concert that combined singing with orchestra music. I thought that everything sounded very nice together, and that Hill Auditorium was the perfect space for the performance.

I really appreciated that UMS provided the translations of the lyrics. Even though I did not follow along word for word, I liked being able to read what the song was about because it helped me understand the tone. I attended the Asif Ali Khan concert a couple weeks ago, and I found the language barrier very difficult. Having the translation made it much easier to stay engaged.

I agree with you on a lot of things, particularly that the percussion was too loud. I was also somewhat disappointed by the first half, and therefore expected to enjoy the second half more—which I did not. However, I did like watching Alfredo Rodríguez play the piano and found him entertaining. For me, his energy made the performance more enjoyable.

I do not usually listen to jazz, so I was pleasantly surprised by the upbeat music that I heard at the concert. I was expecting something much slower and quieter (what I would expect at a traditional jazz concert). I particularly enjoyed watching Alfredo Rodríguez on the piano and appreciated his energy. However, at some points I thought the percussion was too loud and over powering to the point where I could not hear the piano or bass.

I was excited for the Pedrito Martinez Group because I generally prefer music with vocalists to instrumental music. However, I liked the first half much better and found the Alfredo Rodríguez Trio more entertaining to watch. I do think that both acts were too long, especially for a concert that started pretty late in the evening.

I also found myself somewhat disappointed by the first half, but really enjoyed the second act. You made an interesting point about expectations. I had not thought about it until reading your post, but I now also think that my low expectations for the second act made me enjoy it even more. In the first act, there were very few acrobatic moves and a lot of simple choreography. Because of this, I did not expect much to change in the second act, and when it did, I was blown away.

I really should have done my homework before attending this performance! I admittedly did not enjoy the first act until just before the intermission when the performers came on stage with canes that appeared to have wooden shoes attached to the end. It reminded me of the famous photograph, “Three-legged Woman at Bar” by Weegee. Until that point, while there were some comical parts, I was somewhat unenthused and had trouble following the performance. I think this was partially because I did not know what to expect, and I may have enjoyed it more had I done some research beforehand.

On the other hand, I absolutely loved the second act, Agwa. Unlike like in the first half, I was completely engaged and on the edge of my seat, wondering how the dancers were executing such intricate moves with cups of water just inches from their feet. Even though I’m assuming it was unplanned, I loved when one of the dancers spilled his water and the performer to his left shared and poured half his water in the empty cup. It showed such a good sense of teamwork and family that made me enjoy the performance even more!

The Saturday night performance was my first time seeing the Kronos Quartet. The pieces performed were unlike anything I have ever heard, especially from string instruments. My favorite pieces were, “Sing Sing: J. Edgar Hoover,” and the one about the CIA. I think part of the reason it was so unique was because the composers used classical instruments to tell a story about modern events. This made for a unique experience that definitely kept me entertained.

As I sat listening to the music, I felt like the songs could have been part of a soundtrack to action-packed movie. When David Harrington introduced one song by saying it was about, “spying on the CIA,” I thought to myself, “that’s a movie I’d really like to see!” I have some background knowledge on J. Edgar Hoover, but with this piece, I was left wanting to know more. At first I was slightly troubled by this, but the beauty of instrumental music is that the story is often left open for interpretation.

I really enjoyed the Kronos performance. I admittedly haven’t been to a string performance since playing violin in my high school’s orchestra, so this was a nice treat. I think that part of the reason that I liked the performance was because it used classical instruments in ways that I have never experienced before—like an automated technical service phone call that was turned into a piece of music.