On the Road with Joanne Robinson: Show #235 Oklahoma City

Miss America statues on the campus of Oklahoma City University

Hi everyone! Last week we were in Oklahoma City, where we taped an episode of the radio show at Kirkpatrick Auditorium on the beautiful campus of Oklahoma City University. We stayed at a gorgeous hotel, which happened to have a bright red grand piano in the lobby, right outside of a sports bar, and it was there that I witnessed one of the coolest things ever! More on that in a moment.

First, let me tell you a bit about the show, which featured some very moving moments. Kicking it off, 16-year-old Noah Dugan played a movement from Oskar Bohme’s Trumpet Concerto before revealing to the audience that he was born with severe hearing loss. It was inspiring to hear how he never let this restrict him from becoming an accomplished musician. Next up, 11-year-old Victoria Young treated the audience to Bach and talked about an exceptionally difficult period she and her mother went through. Following that, Norman North High School Chorale sang Eric Whitacre’s Water Night with exquisite beauty, and 14-year-old cellist Anne Richardson played Hindemith with great passion. Closing the show, 14-year-old violinist Randall Goosby, the junior division winner of the 2010 Sphinx Competition, treated the audience to some expertly played Mozart.

When we arrived back to the hotel after the show, the hotel bar was in full swing with a crowd of sports enthusiasts who had just watched their hometown team win the NBA playoff series. Victoria took one look at the red piano in the lobby and asked if she could play it for a bit. The hotel management agreed to that, so she sat down and began playing Bach. Before long, the crowd from the sports bar filtered out and began gathering around the piano, and when Victoria finished the piece there were shouts of “Encore!” Victoria obliged, playing piece after piece, and when she finally stopped, she was met with enormous applause. Luckily I was there with my flipcam to catch some of her impromptu performance. Enjoy!