On a recent Saturday night, Jodie, the kids, and I joined thousands of other Oregonians at the beautiful, copper-shelled Cuthbert Ampitheater in Eugene. We were there for the annual Symphony in the Park. Over a picnic dinner under a clear sky and bright, growing moon, we took in great performances from the Eugene Symphony of Gershwin/Bennett’s selections from Porgy and Bess, Dvořák’s Slavonic Dance Op. 46, No. 1, and one of my personal favorites, Sibelius’s Finlandia.
Best part? Our new conductor, Francesco Lecce-Chong, is a huge Star Wars fan. Not only did he have a light saber baton for conducting John Williams’s Suite from Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens, Francesco had the Symphony’s merch team stock red, blue, and green light sabers. (Sadly, by the time the kids and I got to the merch table, the light sabers had sold out). As an encore, the symphony also played selections from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.
The four of us sat on our picnic blanket, snuggling in the summer breeze as evening darkened to night. I thought of how much I love Star Wars, how excited I am to share more and more of it with Aster and Connor as they get older. I thought of how much Star Wars influences my own work, and how I love creating fascinating characters that people love following.
It was, simply, a beautiful night of stellar music, shared with my three favorite people. It inspired me to keep at my creative work, to keep raising my game.
Now to get back to it.