The Importance of Attending Performances

Two years ago, my boyfriend took me to see the Seattle Symphony perform Vivaldi's Four Seasons for my birthday.  I still rave about it.  It was an amazing experience that was inspirational, motivating, captivating . . . you get the idea.  Part of the reason it was so cool was because as a violinist, I've played most of the violin parts in it.  Solo parts, first violin parts, second violin parts, for all three movements of all four pieces.  So it was like getting a lesson or master class.

Watching other people perform can be a great learning experience.  You can see and hear different ways of playing and performing, see different techniques in action, and experience someone else's interpretation of a piece.  So when you go home afterward, you can try some of these and see how you like them for your playing.

Attending performances is also very motivating.  After seeing the Seattle Symphony, I went home with renewed motivation to practice.  Two months later, I even managed to get myself a lesson with a local professional violinist in the hopes of auditioning for a professional orchestra.  Talk about inspiration!  I still draw on my experience at that performance to give myself a motivational boost when I'm feeling uninspired.

The more performances you experience, the more experiences you have to draw on for your own playing.  In college, I got to see the Juliard String Quartet perform.  I called home to my violin teachers, excitedly telling them about how those old men jumped out of their seats!  They were pretty tickled, considering they'd spent my high school years yelling at my orchestra to move together.  That was the first time I had been able to really see it in action, and man did it work!

So as you can see, attending a performance can also reinforce something you've been trying to learn in a lesson or orchestra rehearsal.  It's the little details, that all added up, make a really fine performance.  Being able to see and experience this live is priceless.

I encourage everyone to attend as many performances as they can.  We are blessed to live in such a musically active area, and have tons of performance options.  I have listed websites of the groups I know about to get you started in your search for your next performance, but I'd also like to invite you to try a free performance.  I play with Tacoma Community College's Symphony Orchestra, and would love to see you in the audience!  Performances are usually Wednesday evenings at 7:30pm.

Seattle Symphony

Tacoma Symphony Orchestra
Auburn Symphony Orchestra
Northwest Sinfonietta
Rainier Symphony
Federal Way Symphony
Seattle Baroque Orchestra
Orchestra Seattle Chamber Singers (orchestra with choral group)

Olympia Symphony Orchestra
Northwest Symphony Orchestra
Tacoma Philharmonic
Bellevue Philharmonic

Tacoma Youth Symphony Association
Tacoma Opera

Happy Playing!