These happy moments were made possible by numerous persons in my life; my dear husband Clyde who accompanied me on this journey; my precious Maestro Andre who is the driving force for the many miles we will go, all the dear Fans and Friends of Andre who have been cheering me on for seven months and of course Ruth Morgan who was my friend and guide throughout the day.

At long last we were in Ft. Lauderdale at what I figured to be the "perfect" hotel to accommodate Andre and the JSO. Well that part I figured wrong because we found it would not be large enough for his entourage. That was ok though, I thought I am here and that is all that matters and in a few hours we would be seeing Andre live and in person, something for which I had waited so long. So we never did see the buses which was disappointing but that was fine, I was still going to see Andre. We met Ruth and Jim Morgan at our hotel around 4:00 and I immediately felt like I had known Ruth all my life. They are delightful people and we had a wonderful dinner together all the while talking about our favorite Maestro Andre.

I think my legs must have been made of jelly as I walked into the arena and finally saw our seats which were not really too bad because we were able to see Andre every moment. We could not see the center of the JSO which was disappointing but I thought I will make the most of the seats by taking as many photos of Andre as I could (and I did!). It turns out the pictures from my seat were better than those taken while we were standing in front of the stage for the encores since in my excitement I did not change the focus setting and some of the close photos are a little blurred but not bad. These little Kodak moments I want to share with all of you.

My heart was absolutely in my throat as I heard the first notes of "Seventy-Six Trombones" and saw Andre waving and walking down the aisle. Ruth said she was ‘high fived’ by Andre as he went by. I asked my husband ‘are you sure I am here?’ I guess he sometimes wonders about me but that is ok because I was there and I was seeing Andre for the first time. What a difference it makes to see a concert in person and to take in the aroma of excitement and sounds. No DVD can bring this to you and it is something you can never forget. It took a little while for the audience to warm up but not too long. We fans helped them out a lot. They were a nice, friendly group who obviously loved Andre and the JSO which was evidenced by the standing ovations they received. I know you have the program so I will not list the songs. I told my husband I was going to take one song and just watch Andre (with my opera glasses) play without any other interruptions. I chose "Song Of The Volga" which I dearly love and I just watched the varied expressions of Andre’s face and I can still see his blue eyes shining with the love he was feeling not only for the lovely music but for the beautiful instrument he was holding. That is a moment I will always remember. It was like a moment carved out of time just for me. Andre made that moment happen and I took it and will have it always. Once again I was figuring I could not love Andre any more after a concert than I did before and once again I was wrong, but I was there and that is all that matters.

Both numbers by Mirusia were gorgeous but I was just blown away when she sang "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again" from Phantom. I get goosebumps just writing about it. She is a show stopper! Laura sang very beautifully also but I guess Mirusia’s voice was more special for me. The Platin Tenors were great as always and it so nice to see them sing live. To me every song was a first time thrill since I had never seen a live concert before.

At intermission Ruth introduced us to Dan and Alice (Dan, The Banner Man) which was a highlight of the evening. They are such great fans and lovely people. Dan will be at the Reading concert so I hope to see them again. Thank you Ruth.

When Andre introduced "The Blue Danube" I kept thinking ‘here we go, we must dance’ all the while watching if anyone would move out of their seats. They were a little slow so I told Clyde ‘I’m dancing’ and now I was really nervous because I knew I had forgotten the waltz step but it didn’t matter because I could see Andre smiling as he looked our way and by that time a few other brave souls were on the floor dancing. What a thrill to dance (or in our case move) to a beautiful waltz played by the one waltz king we were there to dance for.

click silver arrows to navigate. click photograph to enlarge.

.

This concert was the experience of a lifetime and I can only hope and pray there will be many more. I also hope that every one of you (I know most of you have) will have this same memorable moment in your life.

Hugs, Jeanine Ann