New York Kind of NIght

Well, we're on our way. Kind of. We have a two-day stop in New York City first. My sister's in-laws brought my nephew and me down this morning (my sister and husband went down yesterday morning). We arrived in time for the early afternoon concert in Carnegie Hall with John Rutter conducting. Rutter is one of the pre-eminent choral composers of the past few decades. He is very imposing to play for, believe me. But it's also a huge privilege to do so. They don't allow photography in the hall, so I didn't get any of the concert pictures =(

We then went to NJ to drop off our things in the hotel and then, having nothing better to do, went back to Brooklyn to a pizza place called Grimaldi's. It's supposed to be the best pizza place in NYC and people were lined up for quite a ways to get in. Bob held our spot in line while we went down to the East River and got ice cream and took pictures looking across to lower Manhattan, with the Empire State Building to our right, the Statue of Liberty to our left, and the hole in the skyline straight ahead where the World Trade Center used to be.

It was very foggy, so some things looked very ghostly =) It was a pleasant evening to walk around and take in the sites, though, which we did.

Photos: Trio of Posters showing the Carnegie Hall stage. It was FULL of singers and orchestra players this afternoon! John Rutter (left in gray) outside the stage entrance after the concert. Grimaldi's in Brooklyn. Brooklyn Bridge and surroundings. A ghostly Empire State Building. Lower Manhattan at sunset (the "hole" in the middle is where the World Trade Center used to be). And even more ghostly Statue of Liberty.

Synching the iPod for Greece

I admit it. I never thought I'd say those words. Any of them, but most particularly iPod and Greece. Never mind in the same sentence. Never mind referring to myself and something I was doing, or preparing to do.

How's that again?!!! The fact is that I'm going to Greece the day after tomorrow ... for two+ weeks ... and I'm uploading music to my iTouch iPod ... a thing I thought I'd have no need for. Ever.

But last week found me at the Apple store buying an iTouch ... because I thought, at the time, that I would not be taking my laptop with me, and because I couldn't be without e-mail, and therefore because I thought I should have something for easy access. And besides, all that traveling ... I'd want music. Can't be without music.

So. I bought the iTouch. And then yesterday, while trying to get out of the office before noon, realized I have way too much to do that requires writing ... and while you can e-mail with the iTouch, you can't write whole, huge documents without serious frustration at the time it takes.

That brought me back to needing the laptop. Still, here I am synching the iPod with music from my laptop because the iTouch is easier for that than the laptop.

Sigh....

Meanwhile ... to the exciting part of the above declaration: GREECE! Yes! I'm going to Greece. For more than two weeks. And then on to Istanbul for a day before coming home. We start with two days in New York City. I'm traveling with my old orchestra, the New England Youth Ensemble. My sister and her family are going. Old friends are going. And I do mean old, at least when considering that this is the Youth ensemble. It will be more like a reunion/alumni group that will play, which will make it a whole lot more interesting than going just with a bunch of college kids I mostly don't know.

I will not be playing this time ... so why, you ask, go on an orchestra tour and not play? Because it is considerably less expensive, unbelievably so in fact, and because I'll still see all the things I want to see, and probably a whole lot more. Plus, we're staying on the island of Syros for about 10 days, which I wouldn't do on my own, but which will give us a real taste for the native life of the country/island. I'm so looking forward to this trip!

Which is why I'm spending part of this day synching the iPod for Greece =)

Photos: Artsy plate I used for brunch today to get me in the mood for travel; travel bears; teaching bears; laptop and iPod; the Parthenon in Athens; my nephew and a friend playing in the junior version of the orchestra we will play in.

Oh Say Can You See?

My father is a purist about many things, but especially about music. There are certain things you don't mess with. If, for example, Cesar Franck composed a piece for the violin, it's just not right that the cello takes it on. Never mind that it sounds equally, albeit differently, beautiful on either instrument. It was composed for the violin (my dad's instrument...and he was a very fine violinist in his day), then no other instrument should play it. Period.

He feels even more pas- sionately about the Star Spangled Banner. You should not mess with the nation's anthem. He takes great offense when singers add all kinds of embellishments to it trying to make it more interesting, or something. He says that's not something you mess with, for all kinds of patriotic reasons. I mostly agree with him on that (although I do like Franck on the cello).

I remember in 1991 when Whitney Houston sang it prior to the Super Bowl it caused a great stir. There was all kinds of conver- sation about it as it was a great departure from all versions previous (it's a real bear to sing, if you've ever tried it). Still, to this day though, it is considered the favorite recorded version.

I always think of my dad whenever I hear someone attempt to sing the national anthem, especially at an event such as the Super Bowl. Most times, it's not so great, and again, I think how right he was about trying to make it your own. Tonight, though, as I listened to the young Jordan Sparks render our national anthem, the 42nd time this has happened in such a setting, I was moved to tears. She sang every note pure and true to a beautiful orchestral accompaniment (and yes, I am partial to orchestras). It really was lovely. As she finished, I saw her wipe a tear from her own eye and I realized what an amazing experience that must have been for her, too. Good for her!

And go Patriots =)

Amazing

Last Sunday, my niece performed the Lalo cello concerto with her college orchestra. She earned the right to do this when she won the concerto competition back at the end of November. Her parents and brother went south to TN to hear her play and reported back that she was amazing. I knew she would do a great job. I feel sad that I was unable to go hear her play. Even today, almost a week later, I am filled with regret. It's hard when you have to miss out on important events like this in the lives of those you love. I am fortunate, though, that there is technology that will enable me to see a recording of her performance and allow me to enjoy it, if not live, via Memorex =)

Beginning, Middle, and Ending

This morning's sunrise (first picture) and this evening's sunset (next two pictures) brought a beautiful old hymn to mind. It's one I've sung many times over in choirs, one that has a particular academy choir tour to Puerto Rico come to mind whenever I hear it. Paul Gerhardt's words (set to Jane Marshall's hymn tune) give me pause to think each time I hear them, particularly the line about how, with God, our days--beginning, middle, and ending--can hasten our journey towards heaven. It's a beautiful piece, one whose author has an interesting history gleaned from http://elvis.rowan.edu/~kilroy/JEK/10/24.html:

"One of the great treasures of the Christian church is its hymns, and one of the greatest contributions to that treasure is that of the early Lutheran writers, beginning with Martin Luther and reaching a peak with J.S.Bach. Paul (Paulus) Gerhardt was born in 1607 near Wittenberg in Germany, and studied theology at the University of Wittenberg from 1628 to 1642. In 1651 he was ordained and made pastor of a church in Brandenburg, near Berlin. In 1657 he became third assistant at St Nicholas Church in Berlin. In his sermons, he maintained the Lutheran position against the Calvinists. He refused to sign a pledge not to bring theological argument into his sermons, and was deposed by Frederick William of Brandenberg-Prussia in 1666. His wife and four of his children died. In 1669 he was made archdeacon of Luebben, and died there 7 June 1676.

"Despite personal suffering and the horrors of the Thirty Years War, Gerhardt wrote over 130 hymns, expressing both orthodox doctrines and emotional warmth in response to them. His work, like that of Heerman cited above, is counted by hymnologists as transitional between the Confessional and the Pietistic periods of Lutheran hymnody. He has been called he greatest of Lutheran hymn-writers."

Awake, my heart, and render to God thy sure defender,
Thy maker, thy preserver, a song of love and fervor.
Confirm my deeds and guide me. My day, with thee beside me,
My beginning, middle ending will all be upward tending.
My heart shall be thy dwelling, with joy and gladness swelling;
thy word is my nurture; given to bring me on toward heaven.

Shuffling our attention span

I was watching Charlie Rose's interview with Paul Simon earlier this evening. Paul is a hot commodity right now because he was just awarded the first ever Library of Congress Gershwin Award for Song Writing. A couple of nights ago I watched the concert that commemorated this award with all kinds of other artists singing his songs. That was a treat. But this with Charlie Rose was fascinating as they conversed about the craft of song writing.

Towards the end of the conversation, he started talking about how first CDs and then the iPod changed the way he writes, the way all songwriters write any more. He said it used to be that you planned out an album as a whole, a collection of songs that create a theme or a message the artist wants to convey. With the old records, you had a side A and B, and you designed your play list to lure the listener over to the other side of the record. There were about 22 minutes to a side, and that was about right for one's attention span, he said. With the advent of the CD, there was now 65 minutes to hold a listener's attention. "That's longer than your English class!" he exclaimed. But with the option of "shuffle" on your 5-CD player or your iPod, you are no longer listening to a whole album at once, nor are you listening to a single artist at one time. Your musical attention span has diminished as much as your others. He said this, along with the ability to download any song you want, has changed the music business so much that he may never release another album again.

I must confess that I had not thought of that aspect of this new technology before. No doubt, though, it will soon be a topic of discussion in the academic world, if it hasn't been already. He talked about the loss he feels with this speeding up of the world. He talked about the pleasure of slowing down, of listening to something all the way through, of a sustained musical experience. He said that people think they are getting more by speeding up, but the reality is that you can get more by slowing down, by going deeper.

There's more, much more in this interview. Rhythm, world music, deconstructing and reconstructing a song. The emotionally draining experience of writing even a single song. If you have the time, listen to the whole thing. His observation about music can actually apply to many other aspets of life.

A Rose from Julie

Friday night began the weekend-long celebration of the Class of 2006. The first service, Consecration, was a lovely hour and a half full of music and love. Katie Drexler sang Fairest, Lord Jesus with Julie and Connie accomanying. It was exquisitely beautiful. I thought it was nice that the class asked Katie to be part of their celebration. Turns out, she was the only "outsider" to be included in the entire weekend.

Pastor Mark gave a funny and meaningful talk and the seniors paid tribute to their parents and family members. Julie gave flowers to all of us and I got roses from a few others as well.

As expected, when I got the flowers home, the cats tried to get at them, but I managed to find another place they couldn't get to. The picture above them is one Kaitie painted me a few years ago.

Martha spent the night with me. She took good care of me, doing my dishes, making me tea, and making me breakfast the next morning. I enjoyed having her with me for the night.