I took coffee, and pumpkin cake with Gary at his favourite establishment in Wall Street. It was an iced coffee, and was delicious. It very much set me up for the day.
As it happened, the place was closing early so we were offered the left over pastries. I think we received about $60 worth of free food, which we divided up accordingly.
The only way to-and-from Wall Street from my apartment was on the “6” with a change to “4”, or “5” at 14th Street, or Brooklyn Bridge stations. This was not a problem, and I was there and back efficiently.
The “R” train then took me uptown where I visited the “Museum of Broadway”. This is a truly excellent museum showcasing not only the history of Broadway, the people, and the shows, but also the development of a Broadway show. Not unexpectedly, I took particular interest in the technical side, and spent some time at a model “Stage Manager” desk watching a video of lighting cues being called for the Disney hit “Aladdin”. I cast my mind back to my own experiences of working on school shows, and wondered how my team would deal with such a high volume of instructions coming at speed and very much “on the beat”. I think they would do me proud. I’d recommend this museum very highly.
Afterwards, I picked up by ticket for the evening show at the Carnegie Hall before taking dinner at “Lillie’s Victorian Establishment”. This had been found by Ali, my brother in law and he has suggested I patronise it. It was lavishly, and beautifully decorated. I very much enjoyed my “Zucchini Noodles” (courgette for everyone back home), and a cool glass of Pinot Grigio. There were gentle versions of modern pop songs playing over the Public Address system.
I made my way a few blocks north back to The Carnegie Hall. This place was, of course financed by Andrew Carnegie. He was born in Dunfermline in 1835, and made his fortune in steel. This was envisioned to be the greatest concert hall in the world and is very impressive.
I have only ever been on a tour here. That was in 2019. My abiding memory is that at one point, I had the audacity to suggest to the very knowledgable tour guide that there was indeed another Carnegie Hall. The look I got was as if I had ripped her entire world apart, so I had to hurriedly qualify this that it is a small, local theatre used for small, and often amateur productions. Visiting now for a second time, and for an actual show I resolved to keep my mouth shut.
I was here for “NYO2”, with “NYO” standing for “National Youth Orchestra”. There is an orchestra of this name with permanent members. This concert however was for the orchestra formed as part of a summer programme. Mid to late teenage musicians can audition for a rigorous training experience culminating in this concert, and a tour in Europe. It brought back the ethos of my own youth music organising experiences. I was pleased to read about the focus on musicians who would perhaps not get a chance to join a full orchestra such as this, perhaps due to their location or social background.
The programme included music by Prokofiev, Shostakovich, and the more modern composer Jimmy Lopez. The piece “Perú Negro” composed by the latter is based on Peruvian folk motifs, and I was looking forward to hearing it. My seat was “in the gods”, and I had an impressive view of the whole auditorium.
The concert was excellent. I did not recognise any of the pieces, but I was happy to be challenged. I particularly enjoyed the virtuosity of ‘cello player Ailsa Weilerstein, who was the soloist in the Shostakovich concerto. She got an ovation, and an encore. The whole orchestra got the same at the end of the evening. I got the impression that there were many proud parents awaiting their children in the foyer.
The “N” train took me south, where I enjoyed a large cup of tea, and a peanut butter cookie before retiring. I felt very much the “culture vulture”.
