Photos by:

Carol Burgess

Mickey F, Ali K

Karen O, Mary Ellen G, Dave O

For additional pictures from the Sommerfest evening, go to

http://gallery.me.com/carolburgess1#100051

Pictures can be viewed and also selectively down-loaded.

Sommerfest – Saturday, July 25, 2009

Again, ULLRs had a fun evening attending a glorious concert at Orchestra Hall.  We started out on the Plaza with Carol and Sunny Zenk fighting high winds as they tied balloons on enough tables to seat 50 ULLRs.  New member Connie Page had house guests and did not make the evening, so we only needed seats for 49---yes, 49!  Members congregated on the Plaza enjoying beer, wine, hot dogs and burgers.

The concert began at 8 o’clock so we took our seats in rows 5, 6, 7 and 8 (great seats for listening and viewing) just prior to that time.  And what a concert it was!  Vivaldi’s Four Seasons were the first numbers to be performed.  Playing the violin for the four Vivaldi concertos was a 15-year old virtuoso, Chad Hoopes.  Hoopes had spent some of his young years living and studying in Minneapolis and the audience went wild over him giving him at least six standing ovations at the end of his performance.  He was wonderful!  Not to be left behind, the Minnesota Orchestra performed Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 1, Winter Dreams, after the intermission.  Conductor Andrew Litton led the orchestra as they captured Tchaikovsky’s lovely melodies and grand climaxes throughout that piece.  More standing ovations!  No one in our ULLR group could stop talking about the concert---two wonderful pieces performed magically for our listening pleasure.

Topping off the evening, after the concert about a dozen of us went to Brit’s across the street for a final libation while some of the group stayed on the Plaza to listen to more music.  All agreed that it had been a great evening.