Why I Love New York City

Residents and visitors either love New York City - or hate it.

I've heard every argument against NYC, and many of them have merit. "It's too crowded." "It's too noisy." "It smells bad." "I hate snow." "It's so expensive."

Most of those apply at times, but NYC is a truly great city...many say "the greatest city in the world." If you are an artist of any sort, you have to love it. The [artistic] amenities cannot be matched anywhere in the world. If you are a sports fan, a foodie, a health nut, or a lover of things exotic and interesting, you also have to love New York City. If you are not any of those things, you probably love it anyways.

Here's a typical week for me (last week):

Last weekend I went to a Yankees game with my best friends MJ and BTA. We also went to Ellis Island to hunt for records of BTA's relatives, ate a fantastic dinner in Little Italy, enjoyed Greek food in Astoria, Queens, and tore up the Lower East Side (a few times).

On Wednesday, I went with my great friend Heather to the Bronx Zoo, the largest metropolitan zoo in the USA. I saw lions, and tigers, and bears (yes, you can say the next line on your own). And gorillas. You can get right up next to gorillas at the Bronx Zoo...

The next day President Robert Sirota of the Manhattan School of Music hosted a BBQ for school staff on his rooftop terrace - 18 stories above the city and overlooking the beautiful Hudson River. Eating good food, drinking fine wine, and looking out at the mighty Hudson River (and Riverside Church and Grant's Tomb) on a beautiful sunny day in June...a good time was had by all.

A few days later, Taylor and I went to Lincoln Center to watch American Ballet Theater perform Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake. It was beautiful, as always. One of the great treasures of New York City is Lincoln Center with it's multiple theaters. The Metropolitan Opera House, where ABT performs, is the most magnificent.

The Metropolitan Opera House

Me and Taylor at intermission

Two days later, I found myself in Brooklyn Bridge Park (in Brooklyn, under said bridge), conducing a "flashmob opera" for American Opera Projects, Make Music NY, and Sing for Hope. Three singers, a pianist, and I performed scenes from Gregory Spears' Paul's Case (you may remember I conducted this opera back in March.

I am a bike nut, so I rode my bike there, then over the Brooklyn Bridge to Manhattan where we performed two more shows (in Columbus Circle and Central Park). All performances were exactly as we hoped - interesting, quirky, and unexpected (by the bystanders, at least). More on this soon.

Today I woke with a hankerin' for a solid breakfast, so I wandered over to Tastee Korner on the corner of 31st Street and 30th Avenue in Astoria, and had a serious breakfast for $5.25.

After breakfast I rode my bike over the Triborough Bridge (now known as RFK Bridge) to Ward's Island (the whole island - almost - is a park), then over the Harlem Foot Bridge (AKA Ward's Island Bridge) into Manhattan, through Central Park, and to my office on the Upper West Side.

Flowers on the bike path on Ward's Island.

The view south from the Harlem Footbridge - the East River

Tonight I played softball with my colleagues from MSM. Tomorrow I will take a swim in Flushing, NY, ride my bicycle on Long Island, and eat Egyptian food before Taylor and I go to New York City Ballet to see the premiere of Esa-Pekka Salonen's new violin concerto/ballet. On Tuesday, I'll be attending the New York Philharmonic.

Seriously. This is a typical week. I love this city.

The Triborough Bridge to Queens, from Ward's Island - my commute home.

Two Symphony Seasons End with a Bang

May 2010 was exciting for me. The Manhattan School of Music's production of Mozart's Marriage of Figaro (of which I was associate producer) received much acclaim, the Astoria Symphony's 7th season came to a close with a resounding bang, and the Round Rock Symphony wrapped up its 2nd season. To read about how great MSM's Marriage of Figaro was, click here.

The Astoria Symphony performed its final concert of 2009-10 in collaboration with the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts orchestra. The first half of the program included Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture and Hanson's Second Symphony (conducted by Grant Gilman, this was the highlight of the concert in my opinion).

Grant Gilman conducting the Astoria Symphony

The second half of the program was comprised of a selection of pieces with the Astoria Symphony and the FSSA orchestra seated side-by side. Seated next to an adult professional, each student experiences the high level of musicianship and professionalism that go into an Astoria Symphony concert, and conducting this large and enthusiastic group of players is a lot of fun for me too. I owe thanks to Ken Lieberson, the FSSA's orchestra conductor for wanting his students to have this experience, and for helping to coordinate the big events.

Silas Huff conducting the combined Astoria Symphony and FSSA Orchestra

The Astoria Symphony's 7th season was an important milestone for the organization because it demonstrated our ability to come back from the economic turmoil of the 2008-09 season, during which some concerts and events were canceled. The ever-evolving board of directors met the challenges that season 7 offered and conquered them. For 2010-11, our goals include expanding the board further, reaching new audience members, and achieving new levels of musical excellence. For a sneak preview of our 2010-11 season, click here.

On May 22, the Round Rock Symphony wrapped up its 2nd season, and the final concert was also huge success. The performance was the culmination of a week-long conducting workshop with Maestro Peter Bay, music director of the Austin Symphony. Thirteen conductors came from all across America to learn from him and to take turns conducting the Round Rock Symphony.

Maestro Peter Bay instructs a participant on the podium

The RRS board of directors put a lot of time and care into making the conductors feel at home and welcome in Round Rock, and all the conductors commented on how great and supportive the RRS board is, and how lucky I am to have them. They're right! The workshop will happen again next year, and it will grow quickly as word of the quality of this workshop spreads through the tight-knit conductor world.

Participants learn the art of Tai Chi from Sumi Komo

What goes into organizing a conductor workshop? More than you can imagine. For every concert we book space, hire players, and market the event, but on top of that we had to recruit students, double the orchestra's rehearsal time, rent classroom and studio space, organize airport pick-ups and drop-offs, hire auxiliary teachers (thank you Sumi and Eric!), and make sure all the participants know their way around town and have ground transportation. On top of that, the RRS board decided to have a dinner and Austin Symphony concert excursion, host a welcome brunch for the conductors, and feed the conductors and the orchestra every night at rehearsal.

Maestro Peter Bay looks on as one participant conducts

There are many people to thank for their efforts during the Round Rock Symphony workshop and final concert, but in nutshell, thank you Judy, Beverly, Scott, Cathy, Tobey, Randy, Sumi, Eric, Brent, Brooke, Matt, Mayor McGraw, and anyone else I forgot - thank you a thousand times! These people were - collectively - caterers, hosts, taxi drivers, navigators, gophers, rehearsal set-up folks, teachers, mail clerks, camera operators, cover conductors, triangle/cymbal/violin players, venue organizers, librarians, equipment movers, fund-raisers, check-writers, box office staff, ushers, house managers, and post-concert party people. They are all truly amazing, and their combined effort made a beautiful workshop and final concert.

It was an amazing process, and though I am thoroughly exhausted from a month of non-stop musical activity, I am as energized as I've been in a long time. The day after the concert, I flew to Washington D.C. to meet my wife Taylor for a little down-time getaway. We took a stroll in Georgetown and inadvertently ended up on the Francis Scott Key Bridge, then in the Dumbarton Oaks Gardens (the garden that inspired Igor Stravinsky to write his masterpiece by the same name). I was beginning to think it an amazing coincidence until I turned a corner and ended up in front of a store called "Appalachian Spring" (like Aaron Copland's masterpiece).

These are not coincidences - they are signs! Music is everywhere, even when I'm trying to get a break from it!