Two Boys and a Beagle: NYC Day Two

We ended day two with the long awaited Carnegie Hall performance. Wow! I don't know if it was being in the hall or all rehearsals and practices that took place before hand, but the kids sounded terrific! It was such an incredible experience for kids and the families that were able to share it.

Photography or video tapping was not allowed in the the Hall. We were told that if we photographed or video tapped during the performance, it would be stopped. No one wanted to take a chance of that happening especially after all the effort that it took to get there in the first place. However, another parent was able to snap this photo at the end of the performance. No harm done since it was over and there wasn't a risk of them stopping the concert.

We had walked from our hotel to Carnegie Hall and as we rounded the corner we were disappointed to see the entire building surrounded by red scaffolding. I was hoping to get Mac's picture outside of the building but the red scaffolding didn't provide for a nice backdrop. We did the best we could with what we had to work with. One consolation was that there was a professional photographer taking pictures during the performance and I was able to order nice 8 x 10 of the orchestra and a closeup of Mac. I'm looking forward to receiving those.

Mac standing outside of the door. Unfortunately these pictures are not in focus. Keith had to stand in the middle of the street to get a good shot, and he was trying not to get hit by a passing car.

Mac and his friend, Roger standing in front of the National Youth Concert marquee. Notice the red scaffolding that I wasn't able to crop out of the picture.

The concert was definitely the highlight of our trip. It was amazing being in Carnegie Hall. It was breathtakingly beautiful and the orchestra sounded incredible. I will never forget the experience and neither will Mac.

The following was the playbill for the Hoosier Youth Philharmonic concert at Carnegie Hall:

Slava! by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakoff/Dackow

This piece is a setting of an old national hymn of Russia The theme is also used during the Coronation Scene in his “Boris Godunov” and is quoted by Beethoven in his String Quartet in E Minor. The original setting is for chorus and full orchestra, but this arrangement is no less stirring with its energy and rich divisi passages.

Shell Adagio for Strings, Opus 17 by Nimrod Borenstein

The Shell Adagio was given its world premiere by the Oxford Philomusica conducted by Marious Papadopoulos on Feb. 28, 2004. The new work received exceptionally enthusiastic review from the press. The Oxford Times described the piece as “Beautifully melodic and extremely approachable ... it could easily become one of the staples of the modern orchestral string repertoire like the Barber Adagio.”
The Shell Adagio is a lyrical and melancholic piece. From its sunrise like introduction to its quiet sunset departure, it is like a chronicle of a past life, sometimes light and optimistic or dark and inescapable.

Iditarod by Soon Hee Newbold
Known as the Last Great Race on Earth, the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race stretches over 1,150 miles of Alaska’s wild terrain from Anchorage to Nome. Mushers and their dogs endure harsh conditions, frozen lakes, extreme temperatures and rugged landscapes to run the race that can take anywhere from 10 to 17 days. The Iditarod commemorates an event where dog sleds rushed to deliver the diphtheria serum to Nome during an epidemic in 1925. Currently, more than 50 teams participate in this grueling race every year. The music captures the excitement of the race and the beauty of Alaska.

West Side Story by Leonard Bernstein, arranged by John Moss
Arranger John Moss highlights various works of Bernstein’s opera “West Side Story” in this thoughtful and harmonically rich selection. The medley includes: “Maria”; “One Hand, One Heart”; and “Somewhere.”

Frolicsome Finale from Simply Symphony by Benjamin Britten

In the composer’s own words, this Simple Symphony is entirely based on material from works which the composer wrote between the ages of 9 and 12. The actual sources are given in footnotes to each movement. Although the development of these themes is in many places quite new, there are large stretches of the work that are taken bodily from the early pieces, except for the re-scoring for strings. Themes in Froclicsome Finale were taken from the piano Sonata No. 9 and from a Song, 1925. The Simple Symphony is widely performed and regarded for string orchestras.

As an aside, The composer Nimrod Borenstein heard about the orchestra performing his piece and wrote to the orchestra, from London, to thank them for choosing to play his piece at Carnegie Hall. How cool is that!