Early Christmas gift found in York, PA

There is a brass quintet from Canada which contains two trumpets, a French Horn, trombone and tube. Their instruments are 24 karat gold Conn-Selmers. They are experts on their instruments and they have been sent around the world by the Canadian Government to bring music and entertainment to the masses. The group I’m speaking about is of course Canadian Brass. (The Canadian Government doesn’t actually send them out on musical missions…)

Last night, Scott and I had the pleasure of attending their Holiday Concert in York, Pennsylvania. “You went all the way to Pennsylvania for a concert on a Monday?!” you’re thinking incredulously. The simple answer, “Yes. Yes we did.”

As an early Christmas gift, Scott purchased tickets for this Canadian Brass concert because I’d never really heard of them. He’d been to one of their concerts in high school and he was anxious to go again because they are so incredible.

We left DC early in the afternoon after work and drove about 1.5 hours north to Pennsylvania. York is about 20 miles within the border so it wasn’t really that far. We arrived about 3:30, drove around and explored then found the theater and the best parking spot ever! It was one block up and free after 5! Jackpot! We parked around 4:30 and the meter still had 50 minutes on it so we were golden. This was also the golden spot because it was 20 steps from the restaurant we decided on.





Bistro 19

Going to a fancy restaurant at 4:30 is wonderful because you’ll have the whole place to yourselves, which we did. We took our time eating and eat we did! We got an appetizer, which we rarely ever do but how can you resist a menu choice called ‘Lamb Chop Lollipops’? Neither could we. Scott’s entrée was a white truffle risotto with asparagus and mushrooms. I enjoyed an eggplant tower with goat cheese spread between layers while roasted red pepper, artichoke hearts and tomatoes made up the garnish complete with a balsamic vinegar glaze. Perfection!


Scott, enjoying a Lamb Chop Lollipop

Grilled Eggplant Tower in front and Scott's Asparagus Mushroom risotto

We passed on dessert and still had 2 hours before curtain with little idea of what to do in York. Should we walk around the little downtown in the bitter cold and ice with inadequate winter gear? Absolutely. Yes it was very cold but it was fun to see what York downtown had to offer us. After walking for about 30 minutes or so, we found the local McDonald’s and warmed up with some hot chocolate. Around 6:50, we decided it was time to go into the theater and get ready for the concert.

Strand Theater

 It was one of the most amazing and most enjoyable concerts I’ve been to in a long time. The theater was gorgeous and much more spacious than the outside let on. The performers were extremely entertaining and the music was impressive. Highlights of the show: a Carol of the Bells/Bach compilation, Charlie Brown Christmas tribute and a 10 minute summary performance of Carmen the opera. We’d never seen Carmen but you all know the main theme from the opera and that was about all we knew too. They’d explained a brief synopsis of the opera highlighting the 4 main characters adding a fifth, important addition of the bull for the Bull Fighter’s character and then proceeded to act it out as they played! It was a little bit like marching band but they were dressed up in wigs and horned hats with a tail (for the bull which was the tuba player). It was hilarious and informative. Neither Scott nor I feel like we need to see the real version of Carmen since it would be much too long and probably not as entertaining as the Canadian Brass rendition.




Thank you to the Canadian Brass ensemble for your concert and beautiful and moving depiction of Carmen. We hope to see you again in concert soon. And for those of you reading, this is our invitation to you to see Canadian Brass the next chance you can. We highly recommend them to anyone interested in a fun, wholesome time full of great music and laughs and possibly, a tuba player dressed as a bull.