sing orff

Two events drew crowds to downtown Knoxville tonight. Scott Miller & the Commonwealth were the headliners at Sundown in the City while the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra filled the Tennessee Theatre. As we walked out of the State Street parking garage, we saw a guy wearing long black shorts, hair cropped close on the sides with a pony tail in the back, a couple of visible tattoos and several big piercings. My son and I assumed he was headed to Market Square and were surprised to see him just ahead of us in the Will Call line at the Tennessee Theatre.

The orchestra played Beethoven's Symphony No. 2 before intermission. It was very nice but we were really there to see my wife and the rest of the Knoxville Choral Society sing "Carmina Burana." The hour long piece opens with the very recognizable "O Fortuna," which only lasts for about two minutes. During the concert I was a little worried that the best part of the show had passed because I like my classical music fast and loud. Had I looked ahead in the program, I would have seen that there is a crowd-pleasing reprise of "O Fortuna" at the end of the opus. The rest of "Carmina Burana" is good too, as you could hear for yourself on Friday night.

In addition to the Knoxville Choral Society, there were some excellent young singers from a local show choir called Sound Company and three talented professional soloists. Because the lyrics were in German and Latin, it was hard to notice that at one point the baritone soloist started the wrong verse and then corrected himself. His facial expression was a dead giveaway though. I doubt he'll mention it in his blog.