Zeno's Bar & Grill

I thought the fat lady had sung after the encore with John Williams conducting the Star Wars theme, while dressed in a jacket inspired by the Venezuelan flag. But that was just the beginning. By the end, the players were taking off their clothes and throwing them into the audience like rock stars. Okay, well, maybe it was just the jackets, but still.

The place: Walt Disney Concert Hall, a space so spectacular that it takes your breath away before a note is played.

The event: A performance by the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra. The energy of these players, ages 12-26 is only exceeded by that of their conductor, Gustavo Dudamel, who will take over as the Musical Director of the LA Phil when Esa Pekka Salonen steps down in 2009.

My companion: My middle daughter, who plays violin.

The performance was wonderful and our seats in the galleries high above and on the side offered an outrageously fantastic view of the action--but the real fun started after the first standing ovation at the end. The lights dimmed and just as you were wondering what on earth the players were fumbling around with down there, the lights came back up to reveal every single player relieved of their dark formal wear and instead wearing one of the colorful jackets in Venezuela's flag colors. Even Dudamel was no longer in black jacket! The crowd went wild when he introduced Maestro John Williams to conduct the first encore.

After that, things progressed and got wilder and wilder. Violinists stood in the aisle and swiveled their hips as they played a piece from West Side Story. Cellos spun 360 degrees in synchronization, massive drums were frantically pushed from side to side of the stage and finally the orchestra completed their deconstruction by walking out into the audience before stripping off their jackets and hurling them to the crowd.

And it wasn't all just high jinks. There was real emotion, too. At one point during the extended encores, Dudamel pulled an elderly gentleman from the audience, who seemed to be well known to the musicians and others in the audience--perhaps a conductor? A composer? Everyone stood and applauded madly as Dudamel carefully escorted him to the conductor's podium. After some discussion, during which the man appeared to repeatedly, and sincerely, decline to perform--Dudamel's force of charisma finally convinced the fellow to conduct what must have been the Venezuelan national anthem, to which the orchestra provided their own vocals. Even not knowing the gentleman's identity, it was an amazing moment.

The only thing I could possibly feel was lacking? I just wish I could have caught one of those jackets!

--Melanie