Ben Jones Concert Report I thought the concert at the War Memorial Auditorium by the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra

was very enjoyable. They played music by Bach and Handel, including Handels very famous Water Music before the intermission, and Vivaldis The Seasons after the intermission. The lead violin part for The Seasons was played by the conductor, Dmitry Sitkovetsky on a Stradivarius Violin, and in my opinion it, along with the flute performance at the beginning of the show, were the highlights of the concert. The concert featured violins, violas, string basses, a harpsichord, a flute, an oboe, and several horn instruments. The music played was all from the Baroque era, which started in 1600 and lasted until around 1750. Bach, Handel, and Vivaldi were three of the most influential and talented composers of all time, not just the Baroque era, although at the time they were still alive they were little more than paid servants, and were not very well known outside of the areas they worked, and certainly nowhere near as famous as they are today. As much as I enjoyed the concert, there were certain things I did not understand, such as why the violinist to the left of the conductor bowed when he

walked out onto the stage (I learned in the next class that it was because he was the concert master). I also did not understand why there were children coming out on stage to hand people flowers, and why those children were being applauded for doing so. I also do not understand what exactly a conductor does. I know that people say they are very important to an orchestra, but I still cannot figure out exactly what it is that they are doing that helps keep the orchestra together. All in all though, I thoroughly enjoyed the concert and I hope that it will not be my last.