I took the family to Oklahoma City last Saturday to see the Canterbury Choral Society perform Bach's Mass in B Minor. It was the first time I'd ever been to an event like this (a first for the wife and kid, too). We bought the tickets about a month ago. The opera had been so much fun that I thought it would be cool to attend another classical performance. This Bach piece was the only thing I could find that looked interesting (Oklahoma is not exactly a cultural mecca). I do like Bach and I enjoy choral music.
We made it to OKC just fine (well, of course, it's not as if I haven't driven there a few hundred times), but we had a hard time actually finding the Civic Center. It's been a long, long time since I'd been there. The crazy thing is that it's only a couple of blocks from the I-40/Robinson exit. I just didn't recognize the building.
To make things worse, after we DID locate the Center I could not find a place to park. I swear I must have driven circles around that building 5 or 6 times, weaving through one-way streets, until finally I caught site of a lot for event parking. I don't know why I didn't see it earlier...I think it's because it was so empty. I probably assumed that it was a lot that had been roped off into a no parking zone. On that last pass the wife noticed the "Event Parking" sign, so we paid our 5 bucks and parked the car. We were all a little anxious (with concurrent short tempers) because it was like 7:50 pm by the time we got parked and the show began at 8:00. There was the walk to get there and we still didn't know exactly which building was the Civic Center.
We made it, though. The Civic Center has gone through a lot of renovations since 1986, when I was last there (for an R.E.M. concert, way back when I actually liked R.E.M.). It's really nice. Stacie said she thought it was better than Chapman Music Hall in Tulsa (where we saw the opera). I have to disagree, though.
The orchestra tuned up and the choir took the stage...the Mass began...and five or ten minutes later I realized that I was bored. Oh, there were passages that picqued my interest, but on the whole it seemed tedious to me. This was quite unnerving. I have always thought that Bach was one of those composers whose work was always something I would enjoy. I felt like I was somehow disqualified to be a serious music connoisseur because it just wasn't doing anything for me. Maybe that's stupid, but come on...it's BACH!
Oh well. Maybe my brain just needs a rest. After all, classical music is somewhat more challenging than Waylon Jennings or Public Image Ltd.
We wound up leaving during the intermission. The seats were not the most expensive to be had...about 30 bucks apiece, but it still seemed a shame not to stay.
Next cultural event will be "Opera in the Ozarks", in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. It's one of the things we have planned for our vacation next month. The other is The Great Passion Play. Ha. I never thought I'd ever go to another passion play. But Stacie and Bryan will like it, and I have no doubt it will be interesting on many levels. Then, in October, the Tulsa Opera is starting their 2009-2010 season, so we'll be doing that.
And now I've got to go. Bryan has been practically begging me to install the Sims 2 on my computer so he can have someone to talk to about it. He ordered the Sims 3 last Saturday and it will hopefully be here by the weekend. I don't know what's going to become of it. I was terrible at the original Sims.
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