Trip Report!

I'm sitting down to write this while everything is still fresh in my memory. I'll be posting pictures when I'm not on mobile and I can sort them out.

Last evening I had the pleasure of performing a concert in the Stern Auditorium Carnegie Hall. As a member of the National Festival Chorus I sang seven pieces of superb choral music under the direction of one of the most inspirational teachers I have ever had. This is the absolute peak of my musical career so far, both in enjoyment and of music produced. The Chorus is made up of three competition winning high school ensembles and a select collegiate choir, brought by the guest director from their university.

Here's the music, in concert order.

Ramsey (An Alumna of my school! Also I'm in this video) - I See The Heaven's Glories Shine

Hayden - Angus Dei from the Little Organ Mass

Effinger - Pastorales No.1 'No Mark'

Effinger - Pastorales No.3 'Basket'

Whitacre - Five Hebrew Love Songs

Dilworth - Jordan's Angels

Now to the report. I flew out of Detroit saturday at 7 am, arriving at Laguardia at 9. I got approximately 1.5 hours of sleep because I left the emergency room very late the night before. (I'm okay, I'll discuss it by pm if anyone is morbidly curious)

After checking in to the hotel we had time to grab lunch before our first rehearsal. My first food experience in NYC was at a little sandwich shop in north Manhattan called Hello Deli. I walked in with four of my choir mates at 10:30 and met the owner. She's a lovely older woman who took one look at us, asked us if we were hungry, and if we liked roast beef and pastrami. We replied yes ma'am and she told us to pick a table and she would have something out in a minute. We sat down and were quickly plied with several rye and sourdough sandwiches thick with steaming pastrami or beef brisket. I was instantly blown away and the standards for the trip get set pretty high. After lunch we headed to Times Square and just drink in the city for a bit. Taken in gestalt all the advertising, lights and sounds in Times Square turn into a painting for the senses, at least for a first time tourist like me. After that it was off to Central Park where we catch a jazz quartet playing a gorgeous set, mixing classics from any artist you care to name, and an original piece known as the 'Shake That Ass Mambo.' As well as the music we just sat on a big rock, enjoying the sun and people watching.

We get back to the hotel for rehearsal in one of the ballrooms, greeted by a crowd of high schoolers who arrived the night before. We start rehearsal and these kids are really good. The vast majority are skilled, attentive and a pleasure to sing with. My director has maybe a little more coffee in him than usual and manages to get deep belly laughs and impress the seriousness of the poetic text or mood within minutes, all the while sculpting sound like marble. If I sound like I'm gushing it's because I'm so deeply respectful of my director and the passion he instills in his singers and the skill with which he communicates his musical vision.

Later that evening we got some drinks and sampled pizza from every place that sold dollar slices we could find.

Sunday started with rehearsal from 9 to 11, with the rest of the day being devoted to sightseeing. I went with a group to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, where I found my great great grandparents immigration records. it was a surreal feeling knowing that they had seen the statue and walked on that island. I have always been interested in my family's history and this gave me a much more personal understanding of what my ancestors went through to get to where my family is from.

Dinner on Sunday was at Momofuku noodle bar in the East Village for a bowl of their house ramen and sake. Ever since seeing it on Mind of a Chef, noodles have been my holy grail, number one on my list of bucket list foods, and it was everything I wanted it to be.

Monday morning I woke up early to go to Chinatown with some friends who had gone on Saturday to get some interesting teas and visit a dim sum restaurant that had to be skipped because of time the previous day. After repeatedly resisting the urge to impulse buy a nice tea-set (Real jade inlay, only $20!) I bought a half pound of two teas I was able to sample, a fruity green and a rich rooibos. And some vacuum seal canisters with embossed tea terraced mountains. We gorged ourselves on hoisin pork buns, chicken dumplings and more green tea before going back to the hotel to get into uniform.

Now to the concert.

We had sound check at 6 after being sequestered in a rehearsal space, and I swear, all chatter stopped once we walked out onto the stage of the Stern Auditorium. The slightest sounds would fly straight to the ceiling, setting the whole space ringing. I've never been in an acoustic space anything like it.

After checking entrances and exits of a few pieces of music, we are dismissed to get dinner because apparently people faint on stage from empty stomachs all the time. Us college kids walked to a nearby cafe feeling like a million dollars,delivering acapella renditions of The Lion Sleeps Tonight, Stand By Me and several others without breaking tuxedoed stride. We actually got applause at a crosswalk when we finished Uptown funk, which felt really cool.

8:00. The National Festival Chorus takes the stage and performs one of the most moving concerts I have ever been a part of. The connection I felt to the other musicians and the audience is simply otherworldly and I have only felt it a few times in my life. We walked off stage to a standing ovation from a near capacity crowd, and I have never felt a rush like walking off that stage.

We are then seated in the highest balcony and watch two of the groups performing after us, a Youth Orchestra and the Brooklyn Wind Symphony.

Following the concert we had a private reception at Planet Hollywood, complete with catering that would put a Roman feast to shame. There was a DJ on the club level for the high schoolers post concert dance, and a well stocked bar for those of us of age. I enjoyed the catering and a Manhattan made with chocolate bitters and agave syrup, before calling it a night a little before 2 am.

We left New York at 9 o'clock this morning, and I can safely say this was one of the best experiences of my life to date.