Why We Love Lincoln: Lincoln Civic Orchestra

When you go to an orchestra concert, you probably don’t expect to sing along to Disney’s Frozen, but dozens of concertgoers did just that this past Sunday.

The Lincoln Civic Orchestra performed a series of seasonally themed pieces entitled Four Seasons for its fall concert. LCO provides an opportunity for community musicians to make music together to share with the community and have a blast while doing it (icy or otherwise).

After starting off this Sunday's concert with An Outdoor Overture by American composer Aaron Copland, we took a journey through the seasons of the year beginning with spring. The concert ended with audience members singing at the encouragement of the conductor, Rob Salistean, before (and during) a medley of songs from Frozen.

For the spring season, we played Spring Song, op. 16 by Jean Sibelius, which explored the sadness of spring. Summer Dances by Brian Balmages written in 2000 provided an opportunity to experience a sizzling new composition from an American composer. Associate Director Brett Noser conducted In Autumn, op. 11 by Edvard Grieg, a stormy and romantic piece.

This was my first concert playing violin with LCO, and I will definitely be coming back for more. In addition to playing awesome music, LCO is a very fun and welcoming group. Sometimes it feels like I stumbled into a comedy club instead of orchestra rehearsal on Thursday nights!

What I love about LCO is the accessibility. The music selection is accessible, and the concerts themselves are accessible because they're free. I know that there were people who would never normally attend an orchestra concert there, and they came because their kids liked hearing Frozen and it was a free afternoon of entertainment and culture.

One of my favorite parts of LCO is the variety of people I've met. Because it is the resident orchestra at Nebraska Wesleyan University in northeast Lincoln, there are many Wesleyan students that form its ranks, but there are also students from other area schools and adults of all ages. This diversity provides a unique opportunity to meet people of Lincoln and helps unify the community.

If you are interested in joining the group, please contact info@lincolncivicorchestra.org. If you're interested in hearing us play, join us on February 22nd, 2015 for a concert themed Solos and Dancing!

All photos from the Lincoln Civic Orchestra website.

The Beauty Behind Lincoln’s Body Art

A dear friend and wonderful tattoo artist from Boston, Massachusetts described the people of Lincoln to me in a beautiful, but very strange way. Dave described us as “attractive people,” not just by our looks but, our energy and our passion for the things we love. So he decided to move to Lincoln to share in our passion for what we love…and to share his passion of tattooing with us.

Tattoos have become so popular in today’s society and that includes Lincoln. I want to show the beauty in not only the tattoos, but the beauty in their stories from the people of Lincoln. Who does them? Who gets them? And what do they mean? My blog posts will vary from artists, to people, to tattoo shops of Lincoln.

“Dave described us [Lincoln] as “attractive people,” not just by our looks but, our energy and our passion for the things we love.”

I decided to start with myself to share a little bit about me and show you my passion for tattoos. I have such a love for art and my tattoos are a way to share my love for art and for Christ. Yes, I get the question if it hurts, and yes they do, but there is something about being so connected with what you love, when you are getting tattooed and after. 

Shop talk: For me I have been to many different shops in Lincoln, I have only been to one other and that was in Beatrice. But for the most part I stay with my Lincoln artists! I didn’t quite find “my place” until about last year. Just like a doctors office you want to find a place you feel comfortable and feel at home. Iron Brush is that place for me. I do have an artist I go to regularly, Joel Andersen, but really I feel comfortable with all of the artists there and would recommend any of them! Its just a lovely place and is very clean (big priority for a place with needles).

Lincoln has so many places to learn about but I can’t wait to learn about the art and the people behind it!