Woodbury's Picnic and Pops at Pomperaug High School, 2023

I found tonight's performance of the Waterbury Symphony with Maria Wirries at Pomperaug High School in Southbury to be especially emotive and joyous.  Conductor Leif Bjaland does an amazing job of interpreting the music through his body and of getting out of the way of the musicians.  You have to see it to believe it.  He feels the music and loves it; the same is true for the symphony.  Leroy Anderson's "Blue Tango" was a part of the program.  Anderson and his family lived in Woodbury; today, the Leroy Anderson Foundation continues to make considerable cultural contributions to the family's hometown.  Including Anderson's work in the program locates all the "big stuff" around this cultural anchor that holds, decade after decade.

We attended the concert while Adella was returning from Clarinet Fest in Denver, Colorado, to begin her bandcamp work at UNC Greensboro tomorrow.  Adella discovered the magic of music in her hometown, where she found ample support to pursue this passion.  I am grateful to Woodbury for many things, but especially music and the sense of being at home here.