It is very unusual for professional musicians to not do The Nutcracker around the holidays. It’s a staple. It’s pretty much expected. It is also not at all unusual for us to whine a bit about it, since playing so many performances for so many years can be a bit tiring. In addition, we usually play at least up until Christmas and some groups go after as well. We miss family time. We miss traveling. So we whine.
Until we lose the gig.
Our local ballet company was struggling mightily for a number of years, and they eventually started performing to recorded music. Then this past year they folded all together.
Bye bye, Nuts.
Suddenly many of us missed The Nutcracker. Funny how that happens. I especially missed seeing all the little children so dressed up for their first experience with the Nutcracker. That was always a delight to see, and I know that we were creating a memory for them that would, very likely, last a lifetime.
So gone was the Nutcracker. And I was sad about that.
UNTIL … our very own Symphony Silicon Valley decided to produce it on our own! If you care about live music with ballet. If you care about making this new endeavor a success. If you live in the area. PLEASE purchase tickets!
