Being newish to town, it takes some time to get the lay of the land and figure out what local happenings are “must see”.

Last year, right around this time, I was on one of my first bike rides through the river valley. Riding through Hawrelak Park that warm September evening, I heard some lovely symphonic sounds coming from the Heritage Amphitheatre, so I stopped behind the stage and listened for a while. I’ve got to find out about this event and plan to come next year, I recall thinking.

Today, we had our first opportunity to take in the sights and sounds of the ESO’s Symphony Under the Sky.

First of all, anything in Edmonton that’s “under the sky” is a crap shoot – no matter what time of year. (Technically, only the cheap seats are under the sky – there are covered seats too.) Despite the forecast of 17 degrees Celsius and sunshine, the clouds were ominous and threatening all morning. There were even some rain drops.

I finally got the whole fandamily in the car and to Hawrelak. Parking was tight, but we followed the road and drove around the pond behind the theatre and found a spot. Good parking karma, I’d say.

We arrived just as the Celtic-themed program was starting. I was excited to see the dancers and they did not disappoint. Their rhythm was tight and their kicks were crisp. I love Irish dance and the Knock School dancers were, to paraphrase ESO conductor Bob Bernhardt, spectacular, incredible and unbelievably adorable.

And then there was the music – a wonderfully crafted program that wove together contemporary and traditional Celtic music. I was particularly fond of the selections from The Irish Suite by Leroy Anderson, but found almost everything very enjoyable. When they played Percy Grainger’s Irish Tune from County Derry (aka. O Danny Boy), my eyes welled up with tears. The gorgeous arrangement combined with the memory of  my grandmother for whom this was a favourite song. I wish I could hear that one more time. (Closest to the ESO version I could find is here.)

But the best part of all was watching the kids. There were so many in attendance today. They were dancing and having fun, all the while listening to music that is too often enshrined as cultural treasure and locked away in the concert hall. I watched my own kids for the priceless moments when they heard something that made them look up from their electronic game. That’s what I love about live music in a festival setting – you can ignore it until it touches something in you.

In the end, no rain fell and I believe it was the power of the music, the energy of the dancers and the smell of those mini donuts coated with cinnamon sugar that kept the rain clouds at bay.