Sunday, February 22, 2004
Purdue Symphonic Band and Orchestra
My son and I attended the Purdue Symphonic Band and Symphonic Orchestra concert today at the Long Center. Another great show!
The Symphonic Band featured Martin Ellerby's Tuba Concerto performed by Patrick Sheridan. What a great piece! There isn't very much tuba literature available, and Ellerby's composition is a nice addition to the repertoire. Plus, Sheridan was very audience friendly, and he included a quick rendition of the Flight of the Bumblebee and an improv based on Paul McCartney's Blackbird. He closed with the piccolo solo from Stars and Stripes.
The Orchestra presented a great reading of Morton Gould's American Salute. They were joined by Jonathan Whitaker of IU for Nino Rota's Concerto for Trombone. This man is a fine player, and the selection was most entertaining.
We are always amazed when these groups play, and today was no exception.
The Symphonic Band featured Martin Ellerby's Tuba Concerto performed by Patrick Sheridan. What a great piece! There isn't very much tuba literature available, and Ellerby's composition is a nice addition to the repertoire. Plus, Sheridan was very audience friendly, and he included a quick rendition of the Flight of the Bumblebee and an improv based on Paul McCartney's Blackbird. He closed with the piccolo solo from Stars and Stripes. The Orchestra presented a great reading of Morton Gould's American Salute. They were joined by Jonathan Whitaker of IU for Nino Rota's Concerto for Trombone. This man is a fine player, and the selection was most entertaining.
We are always amazed when these groups play, and today was no exception.
Friday, February 20, 2004
WWJD - Who Willed Jesus Dead?
I just don't get this Mel Gibson/Anti-semitism uproar. He is being accused of saying that the Jews killed Jesus.
There are several reasons why I don't think this makes sense:
There are several reasons why I don't think this makes sense:
- Can we really hold an entire religion/ethnic group responsible for the alleged actions of a small group of people 2,000 years ago? Especially based on contradictory accounts written a century after the event? I think that the Romans may have been involved a little.
-
Christians believe that Christ had to die (as punishment for eveyone's sins) in order to offer the option of eternal life. If he hadn't be crucified, and instead lived a long life as a carpenter and speaker, wouldn't we all be dammed to hell? If the Jews in fact did kill Jesus, they did us all a favor! So, what's the big deal? -
We can go a little deeper to find the real culprit. God, and Jesus, knew how things were going to turn out before the little baby was born in the manger. (Remember the whole "you will deny me three times" thing) If mankind were truly given free will, we could have surprised the deity and pardoned his son. Since God apparently knows all that happened and all that will happen, he should know the consequences of his actions. ("For God so loved the world, he gave his only begotten son..." He knew all along!!) If I set a booby-trap in my house that later kills a burglar, I'm held responsible for his death. Could we say that God killed Jesus? I think he set him up.
