Happy New Year!

For the past few weeks I have been diligently working to put together the details for UNCORKED! Uncorked is our signature New Year's Eve concert and gala. This year's concert featured Borger's own John Bayless.

The concert portion of the evening featured a performance in three acts. In Act 1 John was transformed and performed as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The audience was given a look into Amadeus home and experienced a quiet evening alone with Wolfgang performing on cold winter's evening.

In Act 2 John performed opera arias with his friend Valerie Wilson Morris. Act 3 concluded with John's signature set of improvised selections featuring audience favorites.

This was the first show that I ran for a symphony that required the creation of a set. The image to the left shows the results of our set compilation. The effect was fairly impressive. Darryl and Daniel created an amazing light design that significantly enhanced the performance.

This year's New Year's Eve party was in two locations - the GNC Lobby and GNC stage. Moving the party to the stage made a large portion of the evening a production responsibility. One of the focal points for onstage party was a large floral chandelier created by Freeman's Floral. This piece was amazing! Rigging the beast proved to be a little worrisome, but in the end the beast did not fall on anyone's head. The chains on the chandelier are orchid chains and the main trunk of the chandelier was covered with white roses.

The overall effect of the party was grand. To the left is a shot of the party 23 minutes prior to the great balloon drop. Yes, we do have a countdown clock hung in the primary party space. Yes, we do own the beast.

John B. (our guest artist) and I toast in the New Year at Amarillo Symphony's Uncorked! After many days of hard work it was fun to kick back and enjoy the grand party.