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A Night at the Opera

June 14th, 2014 arouel16

Welcome back!

Today officially marks the end of my second week here on the Peninsula. I’m sure that I’ll be flying back to Massachusetts before I even know it, preparing to return to Mount Saint James and bracing myself for the never-ending season that is the New England winter. But alas! Since I’m here for eight more weeks, I plan on soaking up as much California sun as I can get without an ounce of remorse.

Speaking of the sun, this past weekend I spent the majority of my time enjoying the steamy weather in the Bay Area by attending a free concert in Golden Gate Park and spending the day at Northern California’s largest amusement park. But now that my sunburns are starting to show from waiting in endless lines for roller coasters, perhaps I spent a little too much time basking in the sunshine (it reached 100F in San Mateo!)

Apart from my free time outside of work, my internship at Music at Kohl Mansion has kept me busy with a variety of engaging projects. Since MAKM is currently preparing for its 32nd concert season beginning in October, I was assigned with the task of assembling subscription packets to be mailed to approximately 600 patrons along with writing a press release announcing the upcoming season. In order to complete these projects, I had to become acquainted with each individual artist. This proved to be an intriguing task considering the fact that the approaching concert season will feature an eclectic blend of musical ensembles, including piano and string quartets and a collection of musicians from the San Francisco Opera Orchestra. This week, I also attended MAKM’s monthly Board of Directors meeting, where I introduced myself and observed the proceedings.

Since MAKM’s concert season does not take place during the summer, I thought that it would be a good idea to familiarize myself with the musical scene of the Bay Area by attending a few musical events. This past week I was given the incredible opportunity to hear the San Francisco Symphony perform a Beethoven piano concerto and a riveting symphony by Shostakovich at the world-famous Davies Symphony Hall. I also had the privilege of attending the San Francisco Opera’s performance of Verdi’s La Traviata, an epic story about love and loss that left me speechless.

Davies Symphony Hall

Overall, as I sit here looking out my bedroom window at the sun as it sets over another eventful day, I think it’s safe to say that I have finished settling in to my new surroundings. I’ve started to become accustom to the twenty minute bike ride (uphill!) to the Kohl Mansion and I’ve even begun to select my favorite lunch spots in the area. I’ve also started to become familiar with my coworkers and have finally stopped having to ask where the supply closet is.

I’d say that it’s already starting to feel like home!

This entry was posted on Saturday, June 14th, 2014 at 7:53 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.