Ann Arbor, MI – November 27, 2009
A2SO/Hill Auditorium
SET LIST:
01. A Christmas Festival by A2SO
02. Angels We Have Heard On High
03. Riu Riu Chiu
04. Zero Gravity
05. To Be With You
06. The Riddle
07. The Nutcracker’s TREPAK by A2SO
08. Fields of Gold
09. A Thousand Miles
10. Crush
INTERMISSION
11. The Nutcracker’s WALTZ OF THE FLOWERS by A2SO
12. Pat-a-Pan
13. What Child Is This
14. Ave Maria
15. Sleigh Ride by A2SO
16. A Merry Christmas To Me
17. Silent Night
ENCORE:
18. O’ Holy Night
EXTRA
19. Downloadable links
VIDEOS:
01 A CHRISTMAS FESTIVAL by A2SO cr
02 AWHHOH HD partial cr urvoiceismagical
02 AWHHOH partial cr davidthegecko
03 RRC HD cr urvoiceismagical
03 RRC partial vid cr davidthegecko
04 ZG HQ AUDIO ONLY with audience reaction and banter cr ZanessaEfgens
04 ZG partial vid cr davidthegecko
05 TBWY HD cr urvoiceismagical
05 TBWY HQ AUDIO ONLY cr emilyluvsarchie
06 THE RIDDLE HD cr urvoiceismagical
06 THE RIDDLE HQ AUDIO ONLY cr emilyluvsarchie
07 Nutcrackers’ TREPAK by A2SO cr
08 FOG HQ AUDIO ONLY cr emiluvsarchie
08 FOG HQ AUDIO ONLY with audience reaction and banter cr ZanessaEfgens
09 ATM HQ AUDIO ONLY cr emiluvsarchie
09 ATM HQ AUDIO ONLY with audience reaction and banter cr ZanessaEfgens
10 CRUSH HD cr urvoiceismagical
10 CRUSH HQ AUDIO ONLY cr emilyluvsarchie
10 CRUSH HQ cr bubblesark
10 CRUSH HQ w/ BANTER cr ferryarchie
10 CRUSH snippet cr DavidKareBear
11 Nutcrackers’ WALTZ OF THE FLOWERS by A2SO cr
12 PAP HQ AUDIO ONLY cr emilyluvsarchie
12 PAP AUDIO ONLY with audience reaction and banter cr ZanessaEfgens
13 WCIT HQ AUDIO ONLY cr emilyluvsarchie
13 WCIT AUDIO ONLY with audience reaction and banter cr ZanessaEfgens
14 AVE MARIA HQ AUDIO ONLY cr emilyluvsarchie
14 AVE MARIA AUDIO ONLY with audience reaction and banter cr ZanessaEfgens
15 SLEIGH RIDE by A2SO cr
16 A MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ME HQ AUDIO ONLY cr emilyluvsarchie
16 A MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ME HQ AUDIO ONLY cr ZanessaEfgens
16 A MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ME & 17 SILENT NIGHT HQ AUDIO ONLY with audience reaction and banter cr ZanessaEfgens
17 SILENT NIGHT HQ AUDIO ONLY cr emilyluvsarchie
17 SILENT NIGHT HQ AUDIO ONLY cr ZanessaEfgens
ENCORE:
18 OHN HQ AUDIO ONLY cr emilyluvsarchie
18 OHN HQ partial AUDIO ONLY but with audience reaction cr ZanessaEfgens
ABOUT THIS AUTHOR
Per JR — here is my recap…
There are simply no words to describe what we heard and saw last night at the magnificent Hill Auditorium. It is a dumbfounding experience. Judging from the musicians’ facial expressions, we were not the only ones dumbfounded. Yes, David got several standing ovations –the first one happened when he came upon the stage, before he sang a single note.
He may be slight in stature, and you can barely see him in front of 76 musicians in suits and tuxedos. When he opened his mouth, however, the sea of musicians faded into the background, and you can only hear and see him. The orchestra became the canvas that he painted masterfully and freely with his voice. He took us everywhere and told us one story after another: he is the awe-struck shepherd in What Child is This; the lovesick Scotsman in Fields of Gold; the devout choir boy in Ava Maria; the Everyman asking “who am I” in the Riddle. It is as if there is a vast universe inside of him where he goes to draw emotions and experiences which he had stored from the hundreds of years he lived.
In his own subtle and respectful way, David led the orchestra like a general commanded his army. Throughout the evening, the symphony conductor looked at him with admiration, pride, and adoration. At the end he leaped toward David and gave him a big hug, on behalf of all the musicians.
Despite this being a Christmas concert, surprisingly, what haunts me the most from the concert is the Existential David wondering why we are here in this world at all. Oh David, only if you know. For you, it’s not a Riddle. It’s your Destiny.
Here’s a quote from response to a review (see link in the “Fields of Gold” thread post 87). JR suggested I bring it here.
“As a member of the orchestra I had a great time at the concert and I wasn’t the only one that enjoyed the change of pace. David was a joy to work with and I loved his genuine innocence. When he sat down at the piano and accompanied himself my respect for him was raised to a new level…”
ANDREA of FOD shared thsi wonderful encounter with the A2SO Conductor Arie Lipsky in the hotel after the concert
“.. After one of the most amazing concerts we have ever heard in our lives, and the first time most of us have been to a symphony orchestra, we returned to Scott’s hotel to chat and order some pizza….lol
As we sat in the lobby a few of us noticed a man with his family chatting by the main lobby doors. I thought the man looked familiar and said to Kristin and Scott, “I think they were at concert tonight’…doy!!!! It’s MR LIPSKY, the conductor of the Ann Arbor Symphony !
So, being the outgoing person that I am, I approached Mr Lipsky and asked if it was indeed him, (it was) and I said, ‘Let me shake your hand, the symphony with David tonight was amazing’
He chatted freely with our group of fod’ers (Scott, Kristin, Pam, Amy, Andrea, Lexi, Gloria, Holly, EL and her husband, Laurie and Joy)
Highlights of his conversation were: When he first met David what he noticed right away were (in his words)… ‘his sparkly eyes’… and that David is so ‘real’…. he said David is so amazing to work with and at such a young age is so in tune to performing with an orchestra, and that he instinctively knows what to do. We asked him if they would have David back in the future and he said……’Oh YES!!’
Kristin asked him what his favorite song of the night was and he said without hesitation ‘O Holy Night’….that ‘chills ran up my back’ as David sang that song and although he is supposed to be concentrating on conducting he couldn’t help but look at David as he sang that song.
He talked about the amazing arrangements of the songs David performed … We asked for a group picture with him and could we post it on fansofdavid…he said ’sure’…he was gracious with his time, answered our questions and made it known he thinks highly of David and his talent.
We are now hoping David performing with the Ann Arbor Symphony becomes a yearly Holiday tradition.”