Concert - November 23 2013 Turlock, California Turlock Community Theatre 7:30 PM

will try to keep it short tonight. I promise
https://twitter.com/jackieevancho/status/404455638366826496
https://www.keek.com/jackieevancho1#z9d2dab

slow on getting the little ones on stage. so cute they are
https://twitter.com/jackieevancho/status/404470699089084416
https://www.keek.com/jackieevancho1#Fke2dab

if you look closely at the bottom middle, you can see three little heads visiting with me on stage
https://twitter.com/jackieevancho/status/404471575451160576
https://www.keek.com/jackieevancho1#Kme2dab

Conductor: John Mario di Costanzo

Set List:
1.  Orchestral Number: Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana
2.  Pure Imagination (Started singing first few bars offstage)
3.  When You Wish Upon A Star
4.  Ombra Mai Fu
5.  Orchestral Number: Pirates of the Caribbean
6.  To Where You Are
7.  Reflection
8.  The Lords Prayer
9.  Intermission
10. Lovers
11. My Heart Will Go On
12. Imaginer
13. Orchestral Number w/John Mario on Piano: Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody
14: Se
15. The Impossible Dream
16. Encore 1: O Mio Babbino Caro
17. Encore 2: The Music Of The Night

magique over at Amazon Discussions #5

Turlock Concert, November 23, 2013

While it's true that most of the numbers that Jackie sang last night have been performed in recent concerts, there were absolutely some new things at the Turlock concert.
First of all, they handed out programs as you entered. The programs had Jackie's photo on
the front, the date, the place, and some biographical information.

Next, the lighting was very dramatic, much more so than the recent San Rafael concert I attended. At first the orchestra was in shadows, then quite gradually the illumination was increased until the entire stage was quite bright, a kind of royal purple. Behind the orchestra were three large ceiling to floor tapestries which reflected whatever light scheme was in use; it took my breath away! While Jackie began to sing Pure Imagination from offstage, she then stepped into some enchanted realm of light and music, adding her most sublime voice to the equation.

In When You Wish Upon A Star, she seemed to hold certain notes extraordinarily long. Ombra Mai Fu was the same, as she encouraged us to imagine a special tree. The Orchestra's Pirates Of The Caribbean was greeted warmly by the audience, though the orchestra was sometimes ragged, with erratic rhythms. They were not even an organized group. The greater Turlock area has people so conservative that it may have simply not occurred to them to have a symphony.

With To Where You Are, Jackie's voice grew wistful, imbued with a mysterious longing. I entirely believe that she was singing to some dear person she'd known. Reflection seemed to be very deeply felt, as was The Lord's Prayer (perfect for a Turlock crowd) although the latter was mic'd a bit too sensitively.

Following intermission, Jackie said, "If you are young children, raise your hand," and seven children from two to about nine appeared. Jackie, smiling broadly, asked all their "pretty" names. When Jackie asked them to sit, they paused (would their parents want them to get their nice clothes dirty?). They did finally sit (perhaps they saw Jackie's great beauty and shimmering gown as utterly fairy-like?) and Jackie sang My Heart Will Go On. While singing, she almost giggled from the little kids' gathered about her. Afterward she asked them how they would change the world, with responses such as "Parks!", "No bad people," and "not cutting down trees," to which Jackie responded, "yes, we need to breathe, don't we?"

Imaginer, a song Jackie hasn't sung very recently, saw Jackie dedicating the song to the power of the imagination, and overall it was a compelling communication, clearly a Jackie favorite. Then, the orchestra's Bohemian Rhapsody, a crowd pleaser, was offered, with John Mario di Costanza's astonishing pianism astounding all. Afterward, Jackie entered again to sing "Se," with a triple forte orchestra threatening to drown her out. Most impressively, she rose to the occasion and was heard exquisitely articulating every word, like the unfolding of a rose, attacking every phrase well above the orchestra. At this point in Jackie's concert, she had sung ten numbers, with none eliciting a standing ovation.
Before singing The Impossible Dream, Jackie thanked her mom for "following me" (from venue to venue), and for "putting up with my bad attitudes" adding "She helped me find my dream, which seemed impossible." This number was a magnificent, glowing effort by Jackie, and after ostensibly exiting for good, lo and behold, there was finally a standing ovation from the audience. Waking from a deep sleep, they clapped and stomped loudly, their clapping becoming unison. Jackie returned to encore with divine, commanding force the number now strongly identified with her, O Mio Babbino Caro. At the end of this, two little girls brought the large, undated programs to the stage for Jackie to sign, delighting Jackie,who asked their names.

Again the audience, fully woken up, stomped their feet and clapped their hands as one, and Jackie encored, commenting "you guys are sure enthusiastic!", forgiving how long it took for them to wake up. Jackie swallowed Music Of The Night whole, somehow delving fully into the darkness of the Phantom's world. Stated simply, Jackie worked as hard as she could in this concert, and despite mic issues and a so-so orchestra, nonetheless presented herself as focused and in charge, interacting with the audience surprisingly often, with comments and movement around the stage. At this juncture Jackie had sung 13 songs, and despite time with the children, the concert had lasted two hours, including the intermission.

Even this peculiar audience knew there would be no more encores, and so clapped while sitting down, then exited as the house lights came on. The lighting during the concert so transported me, I'm hard pressed to properly represent it, but it was a new, miraculous addition to Jackie's concert, and now I felt that particular part of the wonderment fading away, as I trudged outside, hanging onto the healing freshness, the urgency, the unearthly fragrance of Jackie's voice and spirit.

Many years before, as a small boy, my parents took me to the auditorium to see the Vienna Boys Choir, and I never forgot their harmonies, daunting energy, and dear demeanors. And only now, after so many many other concerts, do I finally feel that I've seen an act come to Turlock which equals the Vienna Boys Choir. And that, readers, is indeed something very new.