so Melody had some cheap tickets for the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra today, courtesy of her mother, and i decided somewhere months ago that i'd give chamber music a try. the theme was Summer Beach Party, and besides a conductor, they had a presenter too. the concert was one designed for youths and schools, probably to inculcate love for classical music among teens.

first in the set list was the Carnival Overture by Dvorak. that i enjoyed quite well. the different sections blended together quite well, and i was prepared for more. then came on Mr. Malloy, our presenter for the afternoon, whom i was told by Melody to be very good. he came into the spotlight in a colourful Hawaiian top, bermuda shorts, and rubber slippers, appropriate for the theme. he was indeed very interactive and upbeat - the crowd went wild with cheers and claps.

i was probably the only one with eyes narrowing more and more with the presentation of each act.

the orchestra to me should be strictly limited to classical music and maybe musical scores. this was, however, an infusion of traditional Spanish music with pop beats provided by the bass guitar and drums. crestfallen as i was, the audience around me was very supportive, tossing beach balls (?!) that were catapulted by some random orchestra member into the crowd.

alas, every experience is a new lesson earned, and i am now fully aware to accept only orchestral advances that are definitely fixed within the scope of music existent no later than the 20th century (except scores by the likes of andrew lloyd webber and john williams, etc)