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From opening note of violins, cool and smooth as a frozen pond, San Francisco Symphony exuded depth. A dozen violinists playing same note, and attaining richness of multiple instruments while staying in perfect tune and time, takes tremendous talent - and these people have it.

Today's performance was one of many at Kennedy Center this 2002 Fall season by some very prestigious organizations, including Vienna Philharmonic, Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, and cellist Yo-yo Ma. The playbill featured works from Bela Bartok, Carl Ruggles, and Richard Strauss. The performance was one of many sponsored by Washington Performing Arts Society (www.wpas.org), an ambitious organization whose purpose is to further development and enjoyment of music, theater, and dance in greater Washington, D.C. area, and to make city as much a cultural capital as a governmental one.

I sat between wife of a foreign embassy official and a young percussionist studying under WPAS's youth fellowship program. Funny, I didn't meet people like this at monster truck rally...

Michael Tilson Thomas has been Conductor and Musical Director for San Francisco Symphony since 1995. It is a treat to see him in action, arms waving about, hands moving expressively and passionately as he conducts. He not only draws very best out of his musicians but visibly enjoys every minute of it.

I think this afternoon's Bartok piece, 'Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta', should be called 'The Bipolar Symphony'. The opening movement, played 'Andante tranquillo', or "calmly", can best be described by a color: grey. Gently overlapping chords in minor keys, and some very artistically dissonant tones, lend an air of resigned despair until volume rises toward a surprising intense climax. Then final, graceful note of violins trails off like quiet death of hope. The melodic celeste (think of Nutcracker Suite's 'Dance of Sugarplum Fairy' by Tchaikovsky) helps to make movement sound pretty despite its mood.

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The JW Marriott in Summerlin, a northwest suburb of Las Vegas, has a huge ceiling lobby, providing a cool, North African/Mediterranean type of desert motif. There is plentiful natural lighting and real jungly plants, making luxury resort glow in late afternoon like sundown on sand dunes, when day relents to evening Saharan brilliant night sky.

Book The JW Marriott In Las Vegas

In certain parts of Sahara it has not rained for ten thousand years, and lately in Vegas, it has been eerily rain sparse. While staying at JW Marriott, which is actually a Canadian managed brand of Marriott chain, I felt like I was in a 1930's newsreel, with Marriott reminiscent of a Moroccan grand dame frontier fort, something out of Beau Gest. It is a wonderful resort sitting out amongst retirementville enclave of Summerlin - giving it a sentinel loneliness, like French Foreign Legion post that Gary Cooper left at end of movie "Morocco", with Marlena Deitrich trailing forlorn and behind.

Where is Summerlin? Summerin is a 36 square mile, master planned community developed by Howard Hughes Corporation. For many years Summerlin was ranked as nation's best selling master planned community, according to an independent survey by Robert Charles Lesser & Company, a leading national real estate consultant.

There are actually two hotels here, or I should say two six-story towers, with 541 guest rooms and suites, located on south and west end of immense resort. I heard through grapevine that other towers are planned. The Spa Tower has 286 rooms and suites The Palms Tower with 255 rooms and suites. Guest rooms offer interior views of gardens or panoramic views of Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area to west. Rent a bike or hike area. You can see glistening lights of Vegas to east, because you are actually in foothills of Redrock area, known for it's outstanding climbing routes.

The size of guest rooms average about 560 square feet, and are very comfortable, with either king, queen or twin beds.What I really liked about room was huge Jacuzzi tub that you could lay down in. Ahhh - now that is pleasure!