Sunday, November 07, 2010

Lets' get ready to play music! Wait...what???

If it's game day in Green Bay then it must be time to talk about...symphonic music???

Yes, this is the place you come to read about our beloved Green Bay Packers. And you will, just not in the usual way. Bear with me.

"The Civic Symphony of Green Bay has a surprising concert lined up Friday – rousing football themes. Many of the pieces are bursts of heroics and adrenaline made for NFL Films. The man who wrote much of that music is coming from Munich, Germany, to conduct."

So begins an article in yesterday's Green Bay Press-Gazette. It tells the improbable story of how a chance pick up two years ago of a CD, "Power and the Glory," containing a compilation of that great music from NFL Films led to this upcoming multi-media orchestral presentation. And the characters involved have interesting connections going back to Vince Lombardi himself. The article details how the key players had to navigate a lack of musical score availability, rights to play the music, etc. Certainly it's all a tribute to an idea and the perseverance to see it through. Worth reading.

According to the article, "Narrating and hosting the concert will be Bill Jartz, WBAY, Channel 2, anchorman and stadium announcer at Lambeau Field. The Green Bay Press-Gazette has supplied photos from most eras of Packers history for projecting on a screen. Augmenting the orchestra will be players from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay and the community."

You can learn about the Civic Symphony of Green Bay's performance here. Tickets are just $15 for adults, $10 for seniors, $5 for students and families can attend for just $35. Holy helmet-to-helmet hit, Batman! That's a deal! And with the Packers bye week coming up, here's a way for you to get your football fix and even get a dose of culture at the same time. Thank goodness, though, it's still football culture. I mean...c'mon, right? It is Green Bay after all.

Thanks again to fellow Packer fan and friend, Steve, for passing this along.