Benefit Concert with Chevy Chase and the SSO

Mike got a call at the beginning of October from the Scottsdale Symphony. He had played with them previously, but with school keeping him busy and gas prices going up, he hadn't made it over to play with them in their more recent concerts. They called looking to fill out their orchestra for a benefit concert they were hired for - hired meaning a paid gig! That was pretty exciting in and of itself. The other cool thing about it was that Chevy Chase was the M.C. (sorry about the picture - the lighting was not conducive to my camera). I think the benefit was for some kind of alternative medical treatments - I didn't really know. I did end up getting to go attend though because Mike found out the week before that he was getting one complimentary ticket. It was quite a fun concert. They had a lot of musicians and singers, most of whom I hadn't heard of but that were very good, come and play along with the orchestra. While, I have to admit, Chevy Chase was a little disappointing. I guess I was waiting for "My little buttercup...", but life goes on. It was a very elegant event none the less and a fun experience for Mike. The orchestra sounded very nice and the other musicians in the group were very impressed by him. It also made his transition into the Christmas concert scene quite smooth (more on that later). Good job Mike!

This video is of the SSO and this amazing pianist named YongMei Hu. I had heard her at another one of the SSO's concerts and was absolutely impressed again. She's very talented.

This video is of the SSO with Bobby Caldwell (one of the few names I did vaguely recognize).