I am always on the lookout for free and fun events happening around campus. My hunt has led me to join the Facebook group of virtually every Student Union, it’s caused me to mark down every Varsity game and every free commuter pancake breakfast. Recently, however, I have discovered the gem that is the Hart House Orchestra. This past Thursday I went to go see a friend of mine perform; I was told that the event was free and to arrive early as the Grand Hall fills up fast. So, I entered the very formal and beautiful Great Hall about forty minutes early. . . only to find the room pretty much full already! I found a seat, and watched as the men in suit jackets and women dressed in varying degrees of “dressy-ness” funneled in to the room.

It was packed by the time eight o clock rolled around. And by packed, I mean people had pulled in their own chairs, people were crammed against walls—standing—and there were more people hovering in the entrance. The Orchestra finally started up with Tchaikovsky’s Slavonic March, Op. 31. If you don’t know what that is, don’t worry, I’m more into rock music myself. You don’t need to know the song to enjoy it, and enjoy it I did! It was amazing! I felt like I had fallen into some other century, some other time when music meant hours upon hours of preparation to learn how to play something perfectly; it was a huge contrast to a lot of the music on my iPod, which a kindergartner could produce in about half an hour using the right computer.

The Hart House Orchestra really is an amazing, and relatively secretive, jewel of U of T. Alumni, students,  and faculty at U of T all comprise this magnificently talented group of 80-90 musicians that get together and perform.  Speaking as someone who enjoys most music, and loves concerts in general, this was an amazing experience, and my wallet enjoyed it as well.  I discovered a new love for Russian composers, and also for the Hart House Orchestra. If you are interested in having a fun musical night, check out their website for more information, and also for updates on their next concert. Or, just check out their Facebook group (which just so happens to have this amazing tagline: “Rockin’ the House Since 1976“).

This entry was posted on Saturday, November 20th, 2010 at 2:51 pm and is filed under Arts, Entertainment, Events, Music, On Campus, Review, Wish You Were Here. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.