By Robert Schiller, Senior Vice President & CFO of the NC Symphony
From the NC Symphony Blog

December 3, 2013 – Since I began working for the North Carolina Symphony in 2004, I have had the pleasure of experiencing several musical highlights in Meymandi Concert Hall and statewide – but none compare to the Holiday Pops concerts in Raleigh on November 29 and 30. Not just because they were terrific concerts. It was because they featured the Capital City Girls Choir, which my youngest daughter, Abby, auditioned for this year.

When we moved to Raleigh more than nine years ago, Abby was only three years old. She started attending North Carolina Symphony Young People’s concerts and Summerfest concerts before she turned four. By the age of seven, Abby was joining me (along with her older sister, Allison) for classical series and pops series concerts.

Like most fourth graders throughout North Carolina, Abby also attended our education concert with her school (I remember skipping a North Carolina Symphony board meeting so I could share the experience with her). Attending concerts with your children is a remarkable experience – I’m constantly amazed at how insightful children are about classical music.

After sharing years of experiences of attending concerts with my children, I had the unique opportunity to hear Abby sing with the North Carolina Symphony in Meymandi Concert Hall. I hung onto every note the chorus sang and thoroughly enjoyed every second of the concert. The chorus was fantastic – they were extraordinarily well prepared and sang beautifully with the orchestra. It was an experience that both Abby and I will cherish for a lifetime.