As we have done since our Mountain Girl was born in 2015, Larry and I are settled into our rental in Summit County, Colorado, to escape the Florida heat and to enjoy family time.
Each summer, we look forward to attending performances of the National Repertory Orchestra. Eighty young professional musicians are selected for the summer symphony orchestra. Along with performances at the Riverwalk Center in Breckinridge, the talented performers participate in free “pop up” concerts offered throughout the county. We have fortunately been able attend several NRO events throughout our stay.
For the past three years, we have attended the Pops concert, lead by conductor, showman, and clarinet player extraordinaire Carl Topilow. Along with his appearances at the NRO, Topilow is the founder and lead conductor for the Cleveland Pops Orchestra.
The son of Jacob and Pearl Topilow, he was raised in Bayonne, New Jersey. A 2011 article by Violet Spevack in the Cleveland Jewish News spoke of Topilow’s performances in Jewish venues, including at Yom Kippur services and Sisterhood meetings. “Topilow is endearingly ‘one of us,’ “ wrote Spevack” with his Yiddish ta’am (flavor) and chutzpadik (audacious) shticks,” He and his brother and pianist Dr. Arthur Topilow, have performed together, including a July 2016 NRO event that included klezmer music, the dance-oriented Jewish tradition from Eastern Europe.
On July 8, 2023, Larry and I brought our then eight-year-old granddaughter to her first concert performance. In the days before the event, we explained to her about the protocols for the concert: her need to sit quietly, to be attentive, to applaud at appropriate times, and to avoid any actions that would distract from other concert goers. Outside of asking if there would be a ‘half time’ (she and her father are huge Denver Nuggets fans), our Mountain Girl was well prepared. She even stood up and yelled “Bravo!” at the appropriate times.
The same could not be said for the eighty-something man that occupied the seat next to her. He and his younger companion settled in moments before the concert began. During the opening number, the rousing theme from the Raiders of the Lost Ark, the gentleman opened up a plastic shopping bag, rustled some smaller plastic bags, and took out a chunk of turkey. He gnawed on it through Raiders and continued through Jaws. By the third number, my beloved theme from Schindler’s List, the smell of turkey was wafting around us. During Star Wars, he added another noisy addition to his repertoire: a chocolate chip cookie. At least its delicious aroma masked the turkey.
I was not the only audience who was annoyed. The woman in front of me had turned around several times to give the evil eye to the offender. He was oblivious.
At “half time,” I complimented Sylvie on her behavior and also quietly explained that the turkey- touting twit to her left was NOT a typical concert goer. As she and “Zayde” headed to the concession stand, the elderly gentleman and his companion also left for a break.
Leaning forward, I tapped the shoulder of the woman in front of me. “I noticed that you too were disturbed by that man’s behavior,” I said.
“I am the conductor for a Nevada high school orchestra,” she said. “I’ve never encountered such rudeness!” She headed off to find an usher so there was no repeat performance during the second half of the program.
While she was searching for help, the two gentlemen returned. I overheard the younger man’s commenting on his companion’s ill-timed dinner, especially calling out the fact that the smell of turkey had permeated our entire section.
“No worries!” he exclaimed. “During the second half, I brought these individual apple sauce containers with pop-off tops that won’t smell as much.”
At this point, I lost it. “No!” I yelled. “You are not going to take another bite! We brought our eight year old granddaughter to her first concert with rules as to what was expected of her. Your chomping away at turkey and cookies and rattling plastic bags has set a terrible example! No more food!”
Luckily the man actually listened. He didn’t pull out as much as a breath mint during the second half. We got to enjoy the themes from The Wizard of Oz, The Lion King, and The Godfather in peace. And we were able to fully enjoy selections from Fiddler on the Roof, especially when Topilow played the sounds of the shofar— Tikiah! T’Ruah! Shevarim— on his iconic multi-colored clarinet, the section played by the illustrious Issac Stern in the movie version. of the JerryBock/Sheldon Harnock classic.
Later in the season, we took our granddaughter along with her parents to a performance of The Lion King. The Disney animated classic was shown in its entirety on the big screen above the orchestra as 80 musicians, lead by conductor Jason Seber, performed the score in precise timing with every scene.” Once you watch a movie accompanied by the power of a live orchestra, you’ll be spoiled for life,” wrote Shauna Farnell in an NRO article in July 2023. She was right. We loved it!
During intermission, I was talking to an usher and in passing mentioned I was enjoying this concert without the disturbance of any meals outside of what Simba and Nala were eating. The usher was fully aware of the July 8th kerfuffle, as she herself was monitoring the activity in Row H after the high school music teacher had complained.
This year, Larry and I repeated our Pops visit. Topilow and his iconic red clarinet lead a small line of brass and wind musicians into Riverwalk with more somber rendition of “Just a Closer Walk with Thee,” a gospel song frequently played at New Orleans jazz funerals. Once on stage, he lead the orchestra in a rousing “When the Saints Come Marching In.” He showed off his clarinet expertise in the final number, the Cantina theme from John Williams Star Wars soundtrack.
Although she was unable to attend this year’s Pops concert, our Mountain Girl was she joined us for the NRO’s showing of Star Wars: The New Hope, again replete with the symphony lead by Jason Seber replacing the entire musical score. The Force was with us, as we enjoyed every minute.
Sources
Farnell, Shauna. “The National Repertory Orchestra presents Disney’s ‘The Lion King’ in Concert Live to Film.” www.nro.org website. July 23, 2023.
NRO website. www.nro.org
Spevack, Violet. “Maestro Carl Topilow, Cleveland Pops mark a decade together.” Cleveland Jewish News. October 4, 2011.
Topilow, Carl. www.carltopilow.com
