I just wanted to let someone know how great the Indigo Girls concert was! Don't know if they'll be touring again soon, but it'd be great to see them back here. I had never been in the Arts Center for a concert before, and it was a perfect setting. Thank you for bringing them to Bloomington!
Laura Adam
Monday, February 25, 2008
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
So much going on!
One of the best things about the past ten days is seeing the variety of people who have come to the BCPA. Each show has its appeal.
Gaelic Storm's terrific February 8 concert was exciting. We've presented Celtic music before, but the Gaelic Storm audience was completely different. The youth and energy of the audience matched that of the band on the stage. It was a high energy night. The band had people up and dancing, singing call-and-response -- like the best night you've ever had in an Irish pub.
The next day, over 600 people attended the performance of The Velveteen Rabbit by Enchantment Theatre Company. Included in this group were several troops of Girl Scouts, for whom we arranged special pre- and post-performance activities, including backstage tours and a special historic look at the BCPA.
This was just the start of the busiest week ever at the BCPA. The Illinois Symphony Orchestra played schooltime matinees on Wednesday, celebrating our 16th president as a part of the Abraham Lincoln Association's "An American Dream" concert. Then they were back on Friday for their Winter Pops Concert.
Thursday was the long-anticipated Indigo Girls concert. Rescheduled from February 1, the crowd was electric, like those two weeks had just added to the anticipation. Opening act Michelle Malone set the stage with a great 45 minute set. Then the Indigo Girls took the stage and played many long-time favorites, including "Galileo," "Least Complicated," "Closer to Fine," and "Dairy Queen," to the delight of the audience members who had shouted out the title only moments before.
Saturday night was a revival of the traditional kind with an amazing concert by the Harlem Gospel Choir. The night got started off on the right foot with a mini concert presented by a children's choir from Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church. The audience (as well as a few members of the Harlem Gospel Choir) stood enraptured as the young, clear voices sang.
I don't think there was a jaw that didn't hit the floor when the Harlem Choir took the stage. Singing a terrific mix of traditional and contemporary spirituals, as well as arrangements of songs by Stevie Wonder and Kool and the Gang, the Choir had the audience up on their feet, clapping along, and feeling the spirit right along with them.
If they'd kept singing, I bet the audience would have stayed ... and perhaps even bought the choir a pancake breakfast at the Kiwanis fundraiser in the ballrooom the next morning.
Tell us your memories of the week. What did you see? What do you wish you'd seen?
It was a great week at the BCPA!
Gaelic Storm's terrific February 8 concert was exciting. We've presented Celtic music before, but the Gaelic Storm audience was completely different. The youth and energy of the audience matched that of the band on the stage. It was a high energy night. The band had people up and dancing, singing call-and-response -- like the best night you've ever had in an Irish pub.
The next day, over 600 people attended the performance of The Velveteen Rabbit by Enchantment Theatre Company. Included in this group were several troops of Girl Scouts, for whom we arranged special pre- and post-performance activities, including backstage tours and a special historic look at the BCPA.
This was just the start of the busiest week ever at the BCPA. The Illinois Symphony Orchestra played schooltime matinees on Wednesday, celebrating our 16th president as a part of the Abraham Lincoln Association's "An American Dream" concert. Then they were back on Friday for their Winter Pops Concert.
Thursday was the long-anticipated Indigo Girls concert. Rescheduled from February 1, the crowd was electric, like those two weeks had just added to the anticipation. Opening act Michelle Malone set the stage with a great 45 minute set. Then the Indigo Girls took the stage and played many long-time favorites, including "Galileo," "Least Complicated," "Closer to Fine," and "Dairy Queen," to the delight of the audience members who had shouted out the title only moments before.
Saturday night was a revival of the traditional kind with an amazing concert by the Harlem Gospel Choir. The night got started off on the right foot with a mini concert presented by a children's choir from Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church. The audience (as well as a few members of the Harlem Gospel Choir) stood enraptured as the young, clear voices sang.
I don't think there was a jaw that didn't hit the floor when the Harlem Choir took the stage. Singing a terrific mix of traditional and contemporary spirituals, as well as arrangements of songs by Stevie Wonder and Kool and the Gang, the Choir had the audience up on their feet, clapping along, and feeling the spirit right along with them.
If they'd kept singing, I bet the audience would have stayed ... and perhaps even bought the choir a pancake breakfast at the Kiwanis fundraiser in the ballrooom the next morning.
Tell us your memories of the week. What did you see? What do you wish you'd seen?
It was a great week at the BCPA!
Monday, February 4, 2008
Why Blog?
Some of the happiest moments in my life have been in the afterglow of a concert, sharing what I liked and LOVED, found confusing or just plain infuriating about the performance.
Since we opened our doors in September of 2006, the patrons of the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts have been wonderful about writing us and sharing their show memories. They've contacted us with their thoughts about the renovated Center, their hopes for what they would like to see the Cultural District become, and their desire to be a part of it all.
Hopefully this Blog will help bring you closer to the process. This is a great place to tell us what you thought about a performance, share information about one of our upcoming events, tell stories about your experiences at the BCPA, and learn more about what goes on behind the scenes from members of our staff.
Please check back often. There will always be more to see ...
Since we opened our doors in September of 2006, the patrons of the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts have been wonderful about writing us and sharing their show memories. They've contacted us with their thoughts about the renovated Center, their hopes for what they would like to see the Cultural District become, and their desire to be a part of it all.
Hopefully this Blog will help bring you closer to the process. This is a great place to tell us what you thought about a performance, share information about one of our upcoming events, tell stories about your experiences at the BCPA, and learn more about what goes on behind the scenes from members of our staff.
Please check back often. There will always be more to see ...
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