I love going to concerts and movies here on St. Simon’s Island.  It is one of the best things about living and working on the island.  Right now it is also a reminder of life before coronavirus.  Before concerts and movies were shut down – for who knows how long – Tom and I managed to get a few in.

February is always the Island Concert Series at the Presbyterian Church.  I have written about them before.  This year there were a few changes.  First, the time of the concerts moved up half an hour.  Second, the concerts were held in the Presbyterian church Social Hall.  Their sanctuary is undergoing extensive renovations, so the concerts were moved.

The social hall has excellent acoustics and room for just as many people.  The concerts were, as usual, packed.  We sat on folding chairs with only one center island and were very squished together.  But the concerts were worth the crowding, with their top-drawer artists.

The first concert, on February 4, was a romantic pianist, Konstantin Soukhovetski.  Tom and I had school groups that day at work and we missed the concert because we were exhausted at the end of the day.

The second concert, on February 11, was the female quintet Seraph Brass.  They were wonderful – one of the best ever concerts!  All of them are college professors and masters of their instruments.  We especially enjoyed the tuba solo “Csardas.”  It isn’t often we get to hear a tuba solo piece and it was played expertly with joy and humor.

When Kris Moye was visiting, we went to the third concert on Febrary 18 together.  This concert featured Canadian violinist Claudia Schaer and she was excellent.  The concert was a little heavy on long, classical pieces but we thoroughly enjoyed most of it.

The final concert of the series was four opera singers presenting opera scenes.  I like watching opera, but I like it fully staged where I can become absorbed in the story.  I’m not a big fan of a collection of songs.  Tom and I skipped this concert, even though I’m sure it was excellent.

As I have mentioned before, we love the Flashback Cinema at the movie theater on the island.  We got to see two old movies on the big screen before the theater was shut in March.  The first was a “ladies night out” to see “Meet Me in St. Louis.”  The songs were as wonderful as ever and the story just as charming.  The second was “North by Northwest.”  Although I have seen both movies many times, I loved seeing them on the big screen with a group of friends.

Concerts and movies on St. Simon’s Island are one of the reasons we keep coming back.  We have been missing the movies during the last two months, but are making up for it by watching Turner Classic Movies at home.