The Orpheum was fully renovated after Hurricane Katrina. It sits directly across from The Roosevelt Hotel (pictured below). The Roosevelt Hotel is a Waldorf Astoria Hotel. At a minimum, you're looking at $300 per night to stay there. It is luxurious! Gorgeous weddings. Meeting spaces. Domenica's and The Sazerac Bar is located in The Roosevelt. I've stayed at The Ritz Carlton New Orleans (here and here). It's around the corner from the Orpheum and Roosevelt.
Below are pictures of the inside of The Orpheum. They serve cocktails before the performance. I love the beautiful marble floors, tassels on the doors and balcony. Seating is very close. If you are tall, I would suggest sitting on the back row. I giggled when I read a couple of reviews about this and it is true. I'm 6' and so glad I purchased seats in the back.
Hi! That's me (and part of my mom hahaha) sitting below for the pre-concert lecture (the pre-concert lecture started for 6:30pm, the concert began at 7:30pm). The conductor talked about the story of Scheherazade (One Thousand And One Nights) and Sheku Kanneh-Mason. Just to give you a little background. Sheku was born in 1999. He's from Nottingham, England. He was born to Stuart Mason, a business manager from Antigua, and Dr. Kadiatu Kanneh, a former university lecturer from Sierra Leone (source). He is the third of seven children. His siblings also play music! Their twitter handle is @thekannehmasons All study at either Trinity School, Nottingham and/or Royal Academy of Music, London. Sheku's twitter handle is @ShekuKM Sheku is a full-time ABRSM Scholarship student at the Royal Academy of Music in London. He was the winner of the 2016 BBC Young Musician Competition. His debut recording for Decca Classics, Inspiration, was released in January 2018. He's also received Male Artist of the Year, Critics Choice Classic BRIT Awards and became the first recipient of the BRIT Certified Breakthrough Award.
We then moved to our official seats (I took my jacket off), for the concert. Remember the back has more leg room. You don't feel far away at all. It's very intimate. The Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra warmed up and was ready to begin.
Sheku's performance (Elgar Cello Concerto in E Minor, Op 85) was absolutely brilliant. I'm not over-exaggerating. He's a musical genius. Some people play music & that's it. Sheku plays with such feeling & depth. It was as if the cello wanted to sing & talk. You could feel each note. He draws you into the music. I got goosebumps and almost cried (I was holding it back). His performance was that beautiful. If you have a chance to see him in concert, do not hesitate. On Twitter, he mentioned that he will be in Atlanta at Symphony Hall in April 25-27 (2019). Tickets on his website! I'm so glad I got to see him & hear him play. This was definitely a dream come true for me. It was a highlight for 2019.
His performance at The Royal Wedding.
