Saturday night I had the absolute pleasure to listen to the Concord Chamber Orchestra at St. Matthews Lutheran Church in Wauwatosa.  Among other great talents in this volunteer group is our very our Ally from Milwaukeean Rhapsody.  From the very outset of their two hour performance, I kept looking around and thinking to myself... "Why aren't there more people here?  This is incredible music."  Saturday's performance included a selection of Scottish and Irish inspired compositions, including Sean O'Boyle's Haggis, Scottish Fantasy by Max Bruch, several Scottish dances, along with several other compositions.

Scottish Fantasy was especially impressive, as it featured an incredible violin solo by Gerald Loughney.  Loughney, along with the accompanying orchestra, took you on a moving journey of strings and horns that just seemed to flow perfectly and left me with a smile at every small break as I closed my eyes.

The night ended with Sir Maxwell Davies' An Orkney Wedding, with Sunrise, which left smiles on everyone's faces.  Before this final piece, we were let in on the secret that the middle portion was supposed to be played in such a way as to make you think everyone was drunk.  It was a charge, and the entire audience has reason to laugh as we listened.  It was then punctuated at the very end by Kimberly Siegel, playing the bagpipe.  And if the bagpipe wasn't enough to end the night with a bang, they had a haggis as part of the after show refreshments.

I'll be the first to admit that orchestral music is not my normal faire, so in many ways this was as much uncharted territory for me as it was for them, as their season is entitled "Uncharted Territory".  I'm thankful that I didn't let that stop me from enjoying a wonderful night with the Concord Chamber Orchestra.  For those of you who missed it, and you really missed something, they have several more performances throughout the year.  Their next public performance is on December 15th at the Basilica of St. Josaphat.  You'll definitely want to be there.