Holiday Pops!!

Last week, I crossed #13 off my List, Attend a performance of the Holiday Pops in Boston.  I was really hoping to attend it with Chelsea and Keith, two of my good friends.  I met Chelsea through other friends with Mitochondrial Disease.  Keith is her husband.  Despite having to go on my own, the concert itself was a lot of fun!  Shaquille O'Neal made his conducting debut and the final of the three pieces he conducted was the best and hands down, the most unexpected, We Are the Champions, by Queen.  The Boston Globe wrote a brief article about the cameo.  I typed "shaq conducting" into Google and I got over a full page of results.  NPR even reported on the event.  While I was disappointed my friends couldn't join me, I was proud to be part of this unprecedented performance in Boston Pops history.  

Keith Lockhart (Pops conductor) and Shaq on the conductor's box.

(Photo found through Google Images.)

Shaq conducting

(Photo found through Google Images)

While Shaq was the spectacle for many, I simply took pleasure in being in Symphony Hall home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Boston Pops, once again.  I think I have been about five times, two were for one of my music courses I took as part of my music minor at Simmons College, also in Boston.  I attended the symphony for the first time in Philadelphia when I was about 6 years old.  Boston is known world wide for classical music and music education.  Both the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Boston Pops have pieces written specifically for them.  They have also performed many world and national premiers throughout the years.  Tanglewood, Massachusetts is the summer home of the orchestra and the Tanglewood Festival Chorus is its namesake, the official chorus of the BSO and Boston Pops.  The best part for me was the sing along because I (and the rest of the audience sang with the chorus, SO cool!!  I will certainly remember this night for a long  time to come.  

I did take my own pictures, but I will post them later.  I found and posted these because I figured Google likely had better pictures.