{"id":11065136,"date":"2024-12-20T11:13:09","date_gmt":"2024-12-20T16:13:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/?p=11065136"},"modified":"2024-12-20T11:13:09","modified_gmt":"2024-12-20T16:13:09","slug":"rodricks-nutcracker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/2024\/12\/20\/rodricks-nutcracker\/","title":{"rendered":"Dan Rodricks: The best hour of the waning year | STAFF COMMENTARY"},"content":{"rendered":"

I mean no disrespect to anyone with whom I spent at least an hour this past year: My daughter as she coached her ice hockey team, my son while trout fishing, Charles Redd as he worked on my car, Kurt Kolaja as he harvested honey in Chestertown, old friends at our monthly meals together, the savvy entrepreneur Mario Armstrong over coffee at Panera, or the entire cast of \u201cOur Town\u201d at Manor Mill Playhouse.<\/p>\n

Those were all good times, and thank you very much.<\/p>\n

But my best hour of the waning year would be the one that occurred Thursday, Dec. 19, between 9:45 and 10:45 am in the city of Baltimore, and it started with the sight of tiny girls in chiffon gowns.<\/p>\n

I was walking along Preston Street, headed to the Meyerhoff, having been invited to one of the four concerts the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra performs each year for school children. They are called \u201ceducation concerts,\u201d and Thursday\u2019s was for children from kindergarten to second grade, those of Santa age.<\/p>\n

As I approached Cathedral Street, I could see many yellow school buses; police blocked off sections of Preston Street for them. At precisely 9:45, there came from these buses a parade of three-foot-high children, their teachers and parents. That\u2019s when I spotted two little girls in full-length gowns.<\/p>\n

Having been informed that they would be treated to a concert at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, they obviously had decided the occasion called for formal attire. So their Halloween princess costumes found second use as daytime evening gowns.<\/p>\n

Let me stop here and admit that, despite my chosen profession, I am as vulnerable to cuteness as any guy on the street. So the sight of these two preschoolers, among hundreds of boys and girls in winter coats, instantly improved my mood.<\/p>\n

The news of the day before \u2014 and the month before, pretty much the whole year before \u2014 had been pretty much depressing. Little girls in chiffon provide relief; they apparently are a good source of dopamine.<\/p>\n

The parade to the Meyerhoff was orderly, and soon the concert hall filled with the chatter of children and the cacophonous warmup of the musicians.<\/p>\n

The Meyerhoff had been decorated beautifully for a holiday concert, with sparkling lights on pine trees and wreaths, large snowflakes hanging in the space above the orchestra, and the whole tableau rendered theatrical with artful lighting.<\/p>\n

Brian Prechtl, a BSO percussionist who directs the education program, had invited me to the concert. I expected an \u201ceducation concert\u201d to include a lecture of some kind, something about the sections of the orchestra or the difference between violin and viola. But, in my haste, I had misread the best part of Prechtl\u2019s invitation: Student dancers from the Baltimore School for the Arts were to perform an abridged edition of \u201cThe Nutcracker\u201d ballet with the BSO.<\/p>\n

There are several events throughout the year that delight the senses and even produce a thrill: Lamar Jackson running for a Ravens first down, Cedric Mullins robbing someone of a home run in centerfield for the Orioles, the stretch run of the Preakness, a robust rock concert at sold-out CFG Bank Arena, a brilliant sunrise on the Chesapeake, tall ships entering the Inner Harbor. The BSA\u2019s annual holiday production of \u201cThe Nutcracker\u201d should make that list.<\/p>\n

And Thursday, for about 45 minutes, the students from that Mount Vernon school took their act to the Meyerhoff to perform with the BSO and conductor Stuart Chafetz.<\/p>\n

It was great to see Maria Broom, the actress and storyteller who teaches at BSA, introduce the school\u2019s localized version of \u201cThe Nutcracker.\u201d Broom appeared in a quilt-pattern cape that swirled about her and seemed to magically open a door into Tchaikovsky\u2019s Christmas Eve fantasy.<\/p>\n

The rest was bliss \u2014 Phoenix Brown as Grace and Michael Brabazon as the Nutcracker Prince; Lisa Berger as the Sugar Plum Fairy and Edward Lee III as both Cavalier and the Snow Prince.<\/p>\n

The cast of dancers \u2014 the Lieutenants, the Mice, the Rat King (normally the Mouse King, but this is a Baltimorized version of \u201cThe Nutcracker\u201d), and those who performed as Fanfare, Shimmer, Spirits, Fireworks, Naiads, Candy Canes and Flowers \u2014 exhibited precision and poise, charisma and confidence, a level of stage presence beyond their years.<\/p>\n

Congratulations to Amy Hall Garner, Iris Andersen Grizzell and anyone else at the BSA who taught them how to do this \u2014 to project energy and grace, and to be courageous on stage. It took hard work, physical discipline and full-on collaboration to pull off such a great performance.<\/p>\n

Seeing young people succeed like that instills hope.<\/p>\n

So, just a few minutes into it, I found some unexpected emotion rising in my chest \u2014 a feeling of pride in these young dancers from the BSA, in the symphony behind them, in the hall named for Joe Meyerhoff, and even pride in all those little kids in the audience, who seemed awed by the talent on stage.<\/p>\n

It was a great moment in city life, and the finest hour of the waning year.<\/p>\n

\"Students
Baltimore Sun Staff<\/div>Students from the Baltimore School for the Arts perform a scene from "The Nutcracker" ballet with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra at the Meyerhoff.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I found some unexpected emotion rising in my chest \u2014 a feeling of pride in these young dancers from the BSA, in the symphony behind them, in the hall named for Joe Meyerhoff, and even pride in all those little kids in the audience, who seemed awed by the talent on stage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":99999,"featured_media":11065142,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"apple_news_api_created_at":"2024-12-20T16:13:14Z","apple_news_api_id":"fab3449b-249c-416e-985d-a3d26597d1d0","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2024-12-20T16:13:14Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAD\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/w==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/A-rNEmyScQW6YXaPSZZfR0A","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":true,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"middle","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"subheadline":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[83,96,99],"tags":[24457],"feature":[],"location":[223],"type-of-work":[],"coauthors":[404],"class_list":["post-11065136","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-headlines","category-opinion","category-opinion-columnists","tag-social","location-maryland"],"post_status":"","edit_last":0,"edit_lock":0,"highlights":"","original_byline":"","original_canonical":"","original_category":"","original_email":"","original_id":0,"original_pubdate":"","original_source":"","primary_section":"99","primary_tag":0,"print_workflow_body":{"deck_headline":"","print_title":"Dan Rodricks: The best hour of the waning year | STAFF COMMENTARY","print_subheadline":"","print_priority":"","print_placement":"cover","print_planned_ready":"","print_pub_date":"","print_slug":"TBS-L-RODRICKS-1222","print_budget_line":"","print_excerpt":"I found some unexpected emotion rising in my chest \u2014 a feeling of pride in these young dancers from the BSA, in the symphony behind them, in the hall named for Joe Meyerhoff, and even pride in all those little kids in the audience, who seemed awed by the talent on stage.","print_notes":"","photo_limits":"Photo limits are: 1 featured image, 5 featured gallery images, 5 embedded gallery images and 5 in-article embedded images. Articles that exceed these limits will not export. Please adjust images to reflect these limits.","print_featured_gallery_richtext":"","print_inline_galleries_richtext":"","print_inline_images_richtext":"

<\/p>","print_content":"

I mean no disrespect to anyone with whom I spent at least an hour this past year: My daughter as she coached her ice hockey team, my son while trout fishing, Charles Redd as he worked on my car, Kurt Kolaja as he harvested honey in Chestertown, old friends at our monthly meals together, the savvy entrepreneur Mario Armstrong over coffee at Panera, or the entire cast of \u201cOur Town\u201d at Manor Mill Playhouse.<\/p>

Those were all good times, and thank you very much.<\/p>

But my best hour of the waning year would be the one that occurred Thursday, Dec. 19, between 9:45 and 10:45 am in the city of Baltimore, and it started with the sight of tiny girls in chiffon gowns.<\/p>

I was walking along Preston Street, headed to the Meyerhoff, having been invited to one of the four concerts the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra performs each year for school children. They are called \u201ceducation concerts,\u201d and Thursday\u2019s was for children from kindergarten to second grade, those of Santa age.<\/p>

As I approached Cathedral Street, I could see many yellow school buses; police blocked off sections of Preston Street for them. At precisely 9:45, there came from these buses a parade of three-foot-high children, their teachers and parents. That\u2019s when I spotted two little girls in full-length gowns.<\/p>

Having been informed that they would be treated to a concert at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, they obviously had decided the occasion called for formal attire. So their Halloween princess costumes found second use as daytime evening gowns.<\/p>

Let me stop here and admit that, despite my chosen profession, I am as vulnerable to cuteness as any guy on the street. So the sight of these two preschoolers, among hundreds of boys and girls in winter coats, instantly improved my mood.<\/p>

The news of the day before \u2014 and the month before, pretty much the whole year before \u2014 had been pretty much depressing. Little girls in chiffon provide relief; they apparently are a good source of dopamine.<\/p>

The parade to the Meyerhoff was orderly, and soon the concert hall filled with the chatter of children and the cacophonous warmup of the musicians.<\/p>

The Meyerhoff had been decorated beautifully for a holiday concert, with sparkling lights on pine trees and wreaths, large snowflakes hanging in the space above the orchestra, and the whole tableau rendered theatrical with artful lighting.<\/p>

Brian Prechtl, a BSO percussionist who directs the education program, had invited me to the concert. I expected an \u201ceducation concert\u201d to include a lecture of some kind, something about the sections of the orchestra or the difference between violin and viola. But, in my haste, I had misread the best part of Prechtl\u2019s invitation: Student dancers from the Baltimore School for the Arts were to perform an abridged edition of \u201cThe Nutcracker\u201d ballet with the BSO.<\/p>

There are several events throughout the year that delight the senses and even produce a thrill: Lamar Jackson running for a Ravens first down, Cedric Mullins robbing someone of a home run in centerfield for the Orioles, the stretch run of the Preakness, a robust rock concert at sold-out CFG Bank Arena, a brilliant sunrise on the Chesapeake, tall ships entering the Inner Harbor. The BSA\u2019s annual holiday production of \u201cThe Nutcracker\u201d should make that list.<\/p>

And Thursday, for about 45 minutes, the students from that Mount Vernon school took their act to the Meyerhoff to perform with the BSO and conductor Stuart Chafetz.<\/p>

It was great to see Maria Broom, the actress and storyteller who teaches at BSA, introduce the school\u2019s localized version of \u201cThe Nutcracker.\u201d Broom appeared in a quilt-pattern cape that swirled about her and seemed to magically open a door into Tchaikovsky\u2019s Christmas Eve fantasy.<\/p>

The rest was bliss \u2014 Phoenix Brown as Grace and Michael Brabazon as the Nutcracker Prince; Lisa Berger as the Sugar Plum Fairy and Edward Lee III as both Cavalier and the Snow Prince.<\/p>

The cast of dancers \u2014 the Lieutenants, the Mice, the Rat King (normally the Mouse King, but this is a Baltimorized version of \u201cThe Nutcracker\u201d), and those who performed as Fanfare, Shimmer, Spirits, Fireworks, Naiads, Candy Canes and Flowers \u2014 exhibited precision and poise, charisma and confidence, a level of stage presence beyond their years.<\/p>

Congratulations to Amy Hall Garner, Iris Andersen Grizzell and anyone else at the BSA who taught them how to do this \u2014 to project energy and grace, and to be courageous on stage. It took hard work, physical discipline and full-on collaboration to pull off such a great performance.<\/p>

Seeing young people succeed like that instills hope.<\/p>

So, just a few minutes into it, I found some unexpected emotion rising in my chest \u2014 a feeling of pride in these young dancers from the BSA, in the symphony behind them, in the hall named for Joe Meyerhoff, and even pride in all those little kids in the audience, who seemed awed by the talent on stage.<\/p>

It was a great moment in city life, and the finest hour of the waning year.<\/p>"},"print_workflow_exported_ts":"1734711214","print_workflow_exported_username":"Jonathan Carter","print_workflow_shapes":"","print_workflow_side":{"print_section":"24225","print_status":"24232","add_export_buttons":"","print_endpoint":"tribune"},"really_short_title":"","short_title":"","syndication_source":"","market_neutral_title":"","social_title":"","dfm_hub_post_id":0,"paywall_level":"premium","featured_media_content":{"content_type":"image","content":{"id":11065142,"title":"Nutcracker_BSO-108 (1)","filename":"Nutcracker_BSO-108-1-1.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Nutcracker_BSO-108-1-1.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/2024\/12\/20\/rodricks-nutcracker\/nutcracker_bso-108-1-2\/","alt":"Student dancers of the Baltimore School for the Arts perform \u201cThe Nutcracker\u201d with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in a holiday concert for school 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