November FWSO Symphonic Series

NOVEMBER
FWSO CONCERT PROGRAM

The November Symphonic Series featured the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra with guest Nicolas Carter.  

Nicholas Carter
Guest Conductor

The program opened with Ralph Vaughan Williams composition of "Fantasia On A Theme By Thomas Tallis".  It was wonderful!  The program notes by Ken Meltzer describes the piece of music as "a mystical setting for strings of a hymn by the 16th century composer (Thomas Tallis)".

Ralph Vaughn Williams
1872-1958

Following a brief pause, during which  the concert piano was rolled out to center stage, 
Mr. Carter once again took to the podium.  The second selection was Piano Concert No 1 in C Minor, written by Dmitri Shostakovitch.  The guest pianist was Behzod Adburaimov with Kyle Sherman on trumpet.  Both featured artists were excellent in their rendition of this piece of classical music.  Just a quick side note, Mr. Sherman is the current Principal Trumpet for the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra.....one of "our" own!

Dmitri Shostakovich
1906-1975

Behzod Abduraimov
guest piantist

Kyle Sherman
Principle Trumpet - FWSO

After the 20 minute intermission the FWSO returned to the stage for the final number.  it was "Enigma Variations" by Edward Elgar. One of the variations in this piece of work was "Nimrod" which is so very lovely.  

Once again a marvelous program by the musicians of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra!

Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra

Oct FWSO Pops Concert

The November series of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra Pop concert, was titled "Hollywood Hits".  The guest conductor was Brian Byrne and Kelly Levesque was the guest vocalist.

Brian Byrne
Guest Conductor

Kelly Levesque
Guest Vocalist

Maestro Byrne, stared the program with a couple of ditties from the prolific composer John Williams.  Ms. Levesque sang, "If It's Meant To Be" written by guest conductor Brian Byrne The first half of the program ended with a tribute to the James Bond films.  The brass players were prominently featured in these songs and were excellent - as always!

After a short intermission, the FWSO musicians returned to the stage and opened with a Duke Ellington song.  Ms. Levesque again sang one of Mr. Byrne's composition, "The Cry Inside".  The program ended with songs from various movies, and was titled "The Big Movie Suite".  It featured such songs as "Tara's Theme" from "Gone With The Wind", the title song from "Ben Hur', the beautiful song from "The Way We Were" and ended with the theme from "Rocky"

WOW!!  Another wonderful production from the FWSO!

Just a side note:  It has been a long-standing  tradition  for the FWSO to play the National Anthem before each performance.  Audience members rise, face the on-stage flag, sing if desired, and some place hands over their hearts.  Those symphony members who can play their instruments standing up also rise for the playing of the National Anthem.  The Travelling Toe is proud to report that no one on stage or in the audience "took a knee".  And Dear Readers, let's face it, spoiled, entitled NFL football players make a whole heck of a lot more money than classical musicians...just sayin'!!

Mr. Byrne was an excellent conductor and interacted very easily with audience members.  His charming Irish brogue endeared him even more.  Here is hoping that Mr. Byrne will return one day!

"Justice League" (movie critique)

JUSTICE LEAGUE
movie poster

And now Dear Readers, entering the movie ring is the contender to the Marvel superheros, DC Comics, "Justice League"! The Travelling Toe and Dear Friend met at the local Movie Tavern to see this new superhero movie "Justice League":.

Here is a synopsis of the movie from the internet:

 

Fueled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Superman's selfless act, Bruce Wayne enlists newfound ally Diana Prince to face an even greater threat. Together, Batman and Wonder Woman work quickly to recruit a team to stand against this newly awakened enemy. Despite the formation of an unprecedented league of heroes -- Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg and the Flash -- it may be too late to save the planet from an assault of catastrophic proportions.

We did enjoy this movie, but The Travelling Toe must admit that hopefully Ben Affleck will retire and let another actor carry the Bat Man torch as well as Henry Cavill and the Superman cape.. The young actor who played The Flash, brought a lot of humor to his part and to the movie.  Additionally, Aquaman, makes a much deserved appearance.

CAST:

Ben Affleck
Batman

Gal Gadot
Wonder Woman

Jason Momoa
Aquaman

Henry Cavill
Superman

Ezra Miller
The Flash

Ray Fisher
Cyborg

Amy Adams
Lois Lane

  

J K Simmons
Commissioner Gordon

Willem Dafore
Nuidis Vulko

The Travelling Toe gives this movie 2 second toes up with a bottle of Geritol for the two actors playing superheros who might need some extra energy!

"Thor Ragnarok" (movie critique)

THOR RAGNAROK
movie posteR

Dear Readers, as you know the Movie Mavens just love their Superhero movies so we just had to see the new feature, "Thor Ragnarok". We had seen the previous two incarnations of Thor, so we were indeed looking forward to seeing this new flick.

A synopsis from the internet is as follows:

Imprisoned on the other side of the universe, the mighty Thor finds himself in a deadly gladiatorial contest that pits him against the Hulk, his former ally and fellow Avenger. Thor's quest for survival leads him in a race against time to prevent the all-powerful Hela from destroying his home world and the Asgardian civilization.

Previously, Loki, Thor's brother, was the bad boy pulling strings to cause trouble.  But this film featured their sister, Hela, as the cause of all their sorrows.

Of the three Thor movies, this one is by far the best.  It has a good story line, a lot of funny bits and all the action required to be a Superhero flick!  As this movie has been showing for sometime, you might have already seen it, but if not it is worth the money to rent it.

CAST:

Chris Hemsworth
Thor

Tom Hiddleston
Loki

Cate Blanchett
Hela

Anthony Hopkins
Odin
(papa to the 3 above)

Mark Ruffalo
the Hulk

Tessa Thompson
Valkyie

Ben Cumberbatch
Dr Strange

Jeff Goldblum
Grandmaster

Karl Urban
Executioner 

               

   

And of course the true master and Marvel of the superhero world:

STAN LEE

        

The Travelling Toe awards this movie 1 big toe up, with a Valkyrie to provide back-up if you get in a fight as Valkyries are fierce warriors!!

"Murder on the Orient Express" (movie critique)

MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS
movie poster

One of the current movies that The Travelling Toe recently saw was "Murder On The Orient Express".  The movie is based on the widely successful book of the same name written by Agatha Christie

Agatha Christie

First Edition of
Murder on the Orient Express

Albert Finney played Hercule Poirot in the 1974 movie.  Then in 2010, PBS produced another version starring legendary British actor, David Suchet, as Poirot.

The internet provided this overview of the current movie:

A lavish trip through Europe quickly unfolds into a race against time to solve a murder aboard a train. When an avalanche stops the Orient Express dead in its tracks, the world's greatest detective -- Hercule Poirot -- arrives to interrogate all passengers and search for clues before the killer can strike again.

CAST:

Kenneth Branagh
The World's Greatest Detective
Hercule Poirot

Johnny Depp
Samuel Ratchett
victim

SUSPECTS:

Josh Gad                

                      Hector McQueen

Derek Jacobi

                      Beddoes

Michelle Pfieffer

                     Caroline Hubbard

Manuel Garcia-Rulfo

                     Biniamino Maruez

Judi Dench

                  Princess Dragominroff

Olivia Coleman

                 Hildegarde Schmidt

Willem Dafore

                   Gerhard Hardman

Penelope Cruz

                  Pilar Estavados

Leslie Odom Jr

                 Dr Arbuthnot

Daisy Ridley

               Mary Debenham

Sergei Polunin

               Count Rudolph Andrenye

Lucy Boynton

               Countess Helena Andrenye

So Dear Readers, who is the mudereder of the dastardly Rachett?  The Travelling Toe will not spoil the ending for you....see it for yourslef!

The Travelling Toe gives this movie 1 big toe up with a ticket for the Orient Express - if you dare!!!

"The Man Who Invented Christmas" (movie critique)

THE MAN WHO INVENTED CHRISTMAS
movie poster

The Movie Mavens have been out and about seeing movies but The Travelling Toe is way behind on critiquing the movies we have seen.  So today Dear Readers, we shall consider the new movie "The Man Who Invented Christmas".

The is the story of Charles Dickens, who is faced with financial difficulties and desperately needs another mega hit.  He also finds out that his wife is pregnant again (it is always amazing to see when the man reacts surprised to the news of a pregnancy as their wife didn't arrive to that predicament by herself!!!!)   On top of that his mother and wayward father come to stay for the holidays.  So Charles beings to spin a much needed story in his head and on paper.  But along the way the characters begin to come alive and won't leave him along till he tells their story.


Here is the synopsis from the internet:

Using real-life inspiration and a vivid imagination, author Charles Dickens brings Ebeneezer Scrooge, Tiny Tim and other classic characters to life in "A Christmas Carol," forever changing the holiday season into the celebration known today.

What makes the movie so entertaining is Dan Stevens, with those sprinkling blue eyes, plays Dickens. Additionally, Christopher Plummer is the rascal Scrooge and it fits him to a tee.  And of course the beautiful story of redemption of a lost soul at Christmas.

CAST:

 

Dan Stevens
Charles Dickens

Christopher Plummer
Ebeneezer Scrooge

Jonathan Pryce
Dickens Senior

The Travelling Toe gives this movie 1 middle toe up and 1 second toe up with your very own Ghost of Christmas Past (that way you can go find all your now vintage toys!).

Encore at FUMC - Hurst

FUMC-HURST

FUMC - HURST



The Travelling Toe and several Dear Friends attended the November Encore luncheon at FUMC - Hurst.  The Encore program is for those of us who have reached a "certain: age" bracket.  We come together several times a year to hear an interesting program and have a delicious meal.

The November program featured  a group of 4 ladies called the "Joyful Sound".  The group often sings A Capella and are part of the Sweet Adeline's.   They had such sweet harmony and sang wonderful gospel songs for us.

The four ladies are:

                                  Lee                     Tenor/Lead

                                  Becky                  Lead/Alto

                                 Trudie                   Baritone/Bass

                                 Sha                       Bass

Those of us sitting together, agreed that our favorite song that they sang was one for the upcoming Christmas season, "Mary Did You Know?". Their rendition of the song gave one goosebumps. So sweet, emotional and percious!


At present they do not have a website but you can find them on Facebook, under "Joyful Sound".

Joyful Sound