Waving the Flag

Rule Brittania! Brittania rule the waves!
Britons never, never, never shall be slaves!

I and a group of other ex-pat Brits waved the flag this week at the Toronto Symphony Orchestra's version of the Last Night of the Proms, a musical party of all things British.

The Promenade Concerts started in England in 1895, and have continued since then, with classical and pops music presented in concert halls all over Britain.
But the culminating concert, the Last Night of the Proms, takes place at the Royal Albert Hall in London, and always features the pieces of music that bring tears to the eyes of Brits living abroad, such as Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance (features Land of Hope and Glory), Fantasia on British Sea Songs (includes Rule Brittania!), and the hymn, Jerusalem.

Are you sniffling yet, ex-pats? Just a little bit?

We couldn't make it all the way to London, so we decided to attend the Canadian version. When we arrived at Roy Thomson Hall, the 48th Highlanders of Canada Pipes and Drums were in full voice with Scotland the Brave.

Once inside the concert hall, the crowd began to fill the 2630 seats, with many of the concert-goers clutching a flag.... mostly Union Jacks, but some Scottish, Welsh and English flags too. After all, this is a flag-waving extravaganza, if you don't have a flag to wave at this event, you're in the minority!
If you didn't have a flag, not to worry, they were selling them in the lobby, so there was no excuse!

And the guests of honour were Will and Kate (well, Will and Kate wannabe's actually). And of course, the orchestra played the appropriate wedding music.... Mendelssohn's Wedding March, and Sammy Kahn's Love and Marriage.

Arranged on the next level above the orchestra were the members of the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir.
(Sorry about the blurry photos, you'll have to click to enlarge Will and Kate.)
Maestro Bramwell Tovey was scheduled to conduct the concert, but unfortunately he had to cancel due to the sudden death of his mother, so Maestro Grant Llewellyn took over at short notice, and he was marvellous. Funny, personable and entertaining. A great afternoon at the Symphony!

--oo--0--oo--

My volunteer job often has me taking tickets and showing people to their seats at my local Theatre and Arts and Culture Centre, where some great concerts take place. Last night was no exception. The opening artist was Ian Kelly, a singer-songwriter from Montreal.... he was awesome.
And the main act of the evening was Meaghan Smith, Canadian singer-songwriter and Juno Award winner... wow, could she sing! And she's gorgeous too. Accompanied by her guitarist husband (who she calls her husBAND, cos he makes up the whole band!) she sang her way through her latest CD... great stuff. I sold CDs and merchandise for her at intermission, and she gave me a copy of her CD.... I can't wait to listen to it!