Girls' Nite Out with Mozart @ The Magic Hutch

When Kathleen from www.cuisinekathleen.com issued one of her challenges, I knew I wanted to participate, but was perplexed by the theme of the challenge, "Girls' Night Out" because  I really wanted to use components that I already had in my tablescaping "stash", and couldn't come up with anything that would be very interesting. My nights out with my friends usually consist of a night of movies or dinner out; nothing very exciting. Then I realized that what I've been doing for the past couple of months was preparing for 3 concerts with my different singing groups and if I were to plan a "Girls' Night Out", it would be one with some my fellow altos from one of my groups to go over our music.  The programs we've been rehearsing are quite difficult, and any extra practice would do much to insure successful concerts.  So, I decided to plan what would start as an Italian Dinner, full of carbs and flavor to spark our energy; and, then some practicing! The piece I have highlighted is Mozart's "Requiem".  It  is a wonderfully complex and challenging piece that is terrific to sing.  Here's how the table turned out for a planned "Girls' Night Out with Mozart"!

Here's How It Was Created:

Just for fun I decided to make copies of our music and use the copies as placemats.

I then added a black dinner plate since I wanted my color scheme to be black, white and red. I love the pebbled texture on the rim of these plates.

We'll be starting with salad, so I decided to use some plates I found at Williams-Sonoma, and have not used yet. They are labeled, "Italian Recipes" and each plate has a different recipe scripted in Italian and highlighted by the place where the recipe is well known. I love the designs and colors of these plates, and I feel that will become interesting topics of discussion before we start dinner!

My place setting is completed with my Treble Clef  flatware from World Market (well befitting a dinner centered around music!);  my black-stemmed wine glasses from the Dollar Tree store; and, my red and white patterned napkins from HomeGoods.

My centerpiece is highlighted with my CD player that during our meal will be playing our practice CD of our music.  It is flanked by red goblets from Michael's that will hold pencils and highlighters to be used during our choral practice after dinner.  I found some wrought iron music notes (50% off!) to dress up my CD player a little, and then added a red berry wreath to add a pop of color. The centerpiece is completed with a copy of the score we'll be practicing after dinner!

The table is completed with my white ironstone pasta dish and my Italian ceramic bread basket for the garlic bread.

It should be a wonderful evening: we get to enjoy a yummy meal,  each other's company and then spend a couple of hours running through our music for tomorrow night's rehearsal.  Our concert is on May 31st, so it's getting close!

On a personal note:

I have been singing in choirs since first grade, and my years of experience have made it possible for me to now be a part of Master Chorale groups whose signature pieces include those works composed by the masters, such as Mozart, Brahms, and Handel, to name a few. It is always exhilarating and tremendously challenging to participate in the production of these concerts. I have even had the honor to sing on the stage of Carnegie Hall where participants from all over the country got together to have the thrill of performing Brahms' Requiem on a world-renowned stage under the direction of John Rutter.  I'll never forget that experience.  Yes, definitely, my Girls' Night Out would consist of wine, pasta and singing!  Thank you, Kathleen, for encouraging me to plan such a fun experience!

I'll be linking up for Kathleen's "Girls' Night Out" Challenge on Wednesday at www.cuisinekathleen.com as well as Susan's Tablescape Thursday at www.betweennapsontheporch.net., and                                                                                          Christine's Table It! Link Party at www.rustic-refined.com .Thank you, Ladies, for hosting these parties!  Be sure and take a look at what everyone has come up with for these fun tablescaping events!