Beethoven on Deck

Where are we on transporter technology? Because not only would I live elsewhere (like near a beach/water) and not have to worry about my commute, and be closer to the nieces and nephews, I would be able to attend the activities my extended circle of "honorary" nieces and nephews.

Today in St. Chuck, Kari's Krew is performing Beethoven on the Deck as the Catalpa Trio of chamber musicians.

I am BUMMED I can't be there. Those girlies are so lucky -- for a variety of reasons.

I came to chamber music at the end of my formal training. Things were different when I taking lessons. It was more about solo tracks, and not what is now known formally as "Collaborative Piano" - chamber music, training on how to be a equal chamber music partner, and even training on how to be a 'real' chorus, ballet, or rehearsal pianist for theatricals. I picked up a lot on the "job" at church and high schoo chorus/pitl, but there was a lot I didn't know. I know for a fact that some orchestral directors had negative things to say about my playing when I worked with instrumentalists, but they didn't know that *I* didn't know what to do. I was working with what I knew - and the fact that I was highly uncomfortable? (Well, that's another story.) When I played for vocal auditions at UCONN for some regional competitions or auditions, some of those adjudicators and coaches were kind enough to give me some feedback, in the middle of the singers' auditions. (Sorry!) It wasn't until I got to college when I REALLY got chamber instructions - and I have to thank my fellow TRIO NON SACRA* cohorts, Jane and Kristin, for putting up with me -- and Dr. B, Dr. C, and Dr. LaM.

TRIO NON SACRA 4EVAH!

Thanks to social media, I can get glimpses of what the girlies are up to as part of their youth symphony orchestra and in rehearsal. (Not to mention have actual SM interactions with them and now play I spy with parental units. (BECAUSE I MISS THEM. NOT IN A CREEPER WAY!)

My parents are like a @timbuk2 ad! #swag pic.twitter.com/ePSgWYm9Gl

— Stella (@StellaChilds) July 3, 2015

Representing #EYSO last day of Swedish Days! #stringworks http://t.co/HEk60MGPl4 thanks for hosting The Catalpa Trio. pic.twitter.com/EQZfa889sQ

— Kari Childs (@karimamasaywhat) June 28, 2015

@EYSO Fall Camp volunteers. pic.twitter.com/otseFzGx5P

— Kari Childs (@karimamasaywhat) August 29, 2015

@kristins4kids last week @gpmf so grown up! pic.twitter.com/LzOvo2I55k

— Kari Childs (@karimamasaywhat) July 13, 2015

Thanks to WQXR's swag from Opening Night -- Beethoven's Ode to Joy - I sent along my love and a semi-permanent reminder that I am there in spirit, if not body.

Break a leg, girlies! Have FUN!

Beethoven on the deck with the #catalpatrio pic.twitter.com/WzMF3DIEPI

— Kari Childs (@karimamasaywhat) August 22, 2015

Catalpa Trio play Beethoven on the deck at 3pm #obeythoven pic.twitter.com/vJ91LxNUHH

— noel childs (@noelchilds) August 22, 2015

*Unholy Trio

43 Ideas for Birthday 43: iTunes Treats

Ah, all the tunes, e-books, pod-casts, and apps that I plan to get one day when I have time, the resources, and oh - say, designated funds .... 

43 Ideas for Birthday 43: Shipping News

Original Broadway Cast Recording of @LastShipMusical will be released on 12/16. Preorder here: http://t.co/qN9971TbRl pic.twitter.com/elxlaZVPJL
— The Last Ship (@LastShipMusical) November 7, 2014

Excited to announce @LastShipMusical is recording a cast album. Check out these shots from today's recording session. pic.twitter.com/vCacvSfgY6
— The Last Ship (@LastShipMusical) November 4, 2014

This unique portrait by @callmesquigs was created in celebration of the Opening Night of @LastShipMusical last week. pic.twitter.com/D6ywLJ47z5
— The Last Ship (@LastShipMusical) November 5, 2014

43 Ideas for Birthday 43: A-ha Albums

Warner Music will reissue four @aha_com albums in 2015. More here > http://t.co/QbN8MQSga3
— SuperDeluxeEdition (@sdedition) December 4, 2014

As part of the band’s 30th anniversary celebration, Warner Music will again reissue the 1985 debut Hunting High and Low (originally issued as a two-CD deluxe in 2010) but this time as a more expansive Super Deluxe Edition which will be “remastered and packed full of bonus content”. 

Perhaps of more interest to a-ha fans will be the continuation of the deluxe editions of four years ago. Stay on these Roads (1988), East of the Sun, West of the Moon (1990) and Memorial Beach (1993) will all be reissued and expanded next year. 2015 will also see vinyl reissues of the first two albums, Hunting High and Low and Scoundrel Days.

Simon and Sting Sing: Sweet Scenes

When in Hershey, PA, at the Hotel Hershey, you fill up on protein for the hours of probable dancing ahead.
Perhaps with a Reese's Peanut Butter Pie slice - split three ways.

Sustenance

Simon and Sting Tour.com

The evening at the Giant Center could be a blur of excitement, dancing, shrieking, whistling,
stamping along in rhythm, and "singing" along.

Feeling Groovy

Document for posterity as able,

but don't forget to 

Experience the now as it happens.

Look away from the screen.

Direct your attention to the larger screens
when body blocked by other concertgoers.

Snap

Lights. Cameras. Action

Power duo

Dancing Girl Grins

pero ... Ellas dancen solos

Remember this post?

STING, BABY!

Rock legends in their own right. 

A musical journey around the world in about three hours.

Musical Allies and Brothers in Song

Paul Simon and Sting on Tour Together

NYTimes

I took turns shooting on the iTouch and the Nikon. 

It took the whole show to figure out which Nikon presets to best use to get these two:

 And then ... there was backstage.

Which I didn't shoot.

Because.

Well.

Let's call it my: Gaiman Give Back Philosophy

which I developed one night after sitting waiting for Neil Gaiman's autograph after a reading.

These artists have given us so much already - often for many years,

often, with literal blood, sweat, and tears,

not even including the epically wonderful 3 hour show we just attended;

and usually they are in transit, tired, 

and must be weary of the same old song and tune off the stage.

Let me "give back" some of your time, 

by demanding no more 

than what you have already given.

I am already so grateful for you and your art.

This "give back" is my gift to you.

But thank you, Paul Simon,

for being so gracious to me and my friends,

for the words, the photo op, the autographs for those who requested,

and,

most importantly,

at least to me,

and for reaching out to one

who would have been happy just to 

give back 

to you.

It really meant a lot.

Sincerely,

An even bigger fan than before. 

March 9, 2014 Setlist:

Brand New Day

(Sting cover)

 Boy in the Bubble

Fields of Gold

(Sting cover)

Every Little Thing She Does is Magic

Englishman in New York

I Hung My Head

Driven to Tears

(The Police cover)

Walking on the Moon

(The Police cover)

Fragile

(Sting cover)

Mother and Child Reunion

50 Ways to Leave Your Lover

Dazzling Blue

Graceland

Still Crazy After All These Years
 

Me and Julio Down By The School Yard

America

(Simon & Garfunkel song)

Message in a Bottle

(The Police cover)

The Hounds of Winter
 

They Dance Alone

Roxanne

(The Police cover)

Desert Rose

That Was Your Mother

Hearts and Bones

Mystery Train/Wheels

Obvious Child

Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes

You Can Call Me Al

The Boxer

(Simon & Garfunkel song)

Encore:

Bridge Over Troubled Water
 

Every Breath You Take
 

Late in the Evening
 

When Will I Be Loved

 

The Landfill Harmonic Orchestra

The Landfill Harmonic Orchestra

Per NPR, this is "the trailer for an upcoming documentary called Landfill Harmonic, which focuses on one remarkable group in Paraguay: an orchestra that plays instruments created out of literal trash, made lovingly for them by their community."

If you can't view it here, go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_popout&v=UJrSUHK9Luw#action=share

More from NPR: http://www.npr.org/blogs/deceptivecadence/2012/12/19/167539764/the-landfill-harmonic-an-orchestra-built-from-trash

Summer Fridays 2012: Coming Home to Caramoor

Sometimes Summer Fridays fall on Friday the 13th. Sometimes that can be a frightening thing. Full of nightmares and scary things.

Sometimes, though, it's a reason to party - to celebrate that you have survived some of the nightmares and scary things, and have gotten to a place where you are more able to deal with tyrants, terrors, catastrophes, cacophonies, and all the ghosts that can appear from the past.

One such Summer Friday the 13th came recently, wherein Caramoor employees, past, present (and in a few cases, probably future) gathered to honor our colleague Paul on his 20th year at the institution. I shared 12 of those years as a full-time employee, and part of the last six as a freelancer, volunteer, donor, and on-call institutional memory/venting release valve. I couldn't wait to head up north to join in an evening of honoring all that Paul has survived, I mean, brought to the place.

I actually made a bus-man's holiday out of it, heading up on the train early in the morning, to assist my friend Christine with one of her mailing projects. I also managed to drag her out of the office for lunch - unusual for both of us when we "roomed" together, and even now in our respective jobs. (I have mentioned how much I love my friend Christine, right? My travel buddy and all around good gal? I LOVE YOU CHRISTINE!).

I also managed to amuse myself when she stepped out of the office for meetings, but you'll see those pictures later!

My view from the office stairs. Trudging up and down those stairs for 12 years really framed my perspective on things.

Quick sneak peeks around the grounds. The Venetian Theater tent on the left, and gates leading to the Reception Tent on the right.

PARTY TIME!

After all the concrete grey in the City, the verdant countryside is so lovely. But not as as lovely as all the festive folks in the Italian Pavilion. Here's party planner extraordinaire Christine with the Man of Honor Paul and his lovely patient forbearing wife Eileen.

Some people, like Eileen, are serious during speeches, but as usual, Meg (l), Melissa (r), and I were in the background fooling around. It's our privilege as alumnae. Between the three of us, we have about 45 years of Caramoor experiences. It was just nice to attend something and not have to worry about 15 million little details, and to sit for a concert, for once.

To make it clear that this wasn't a thinly disguised retirement party, the staff gifts to Paul were a full-sized, full-weight ball and chain, as well as superhero-wrapped cuff links of the same. They want to make sure he doesn't go anywhere for at least another 5 years or so.

While this is a fake magazine cover, that's really Paul - singing in one of the opera choruses during the Festival.

I call this, Caramoor Still Life - flowers, a glass of a beverage put down in a hurry while "we" rush off to do something else, and a forgotten walkie-talkie next to an uneaten plate of food. Pretty typical for any Devo Girl on a Festival night. There should also be a ring of keys and a clipboard ...

The Italian Pavilion, where I spent a lot of time pacing back and forth, acting as a bouncer cum concierge, and party decor and yummies.

After the reception, it was off to the Spanish Courtyard for a chamber music concert featuring the Linden String Quartet and Gabriel Kahane. Here's Paul and family (daughter Leona with back to me, and his mom coming down the aisle) basking in the tributes. The evening's concert was dedicated to Paul and the program had a lovely write-up about his career, educational background, and achievements.

After the concert, lovely as ever, with additional accompaniment by Mother Nature, it was time for another reception in the Summer Dining Room. Just a couple of shots: The Zodiac Clock on the House Museum exterior walls and the spread in the Dining Room.

Exterior: House Museum at Night
Scene: Suitably Moody and Festive
Cameo by Christine

Reflecting on a wonderful day. Lionizing the Light in the Darkness, Himself

After a long day, I know the staff's favorite sound after a "regular" 9-5 day, followed by a pre-concert dinner, the concert, and then the post-concert reception and/or post-concert concert, was the sound of these formidable gates slamming shut and being locked. I know at least it was one of mine. It meant that the 12-20 hour day was over and it was time to find enough energy to do the clean-up, get the catering crew out of the House, alert the facilities crews that you were packing it in, grab your stuff, and then attempt to drive home and avoid wildlife and the troopers.

It was a great day in honor of a great guy. Even though we weren't supposed to give gifts, I had to be crafty and cobble a little something together. The card might have said something like this:

Dear Paul,

A bag of goodies can’t sum up all the thanks for 20 years of craziness at Caramoor.

At times, I know the job (and the staff) must have driven you nuts*, to the point where you wanted to wash your hands* of it and us.

There have been sour patches*, and then times of good and plenty*. To be honest, things weren’t always so sweet, or quite so black and white*. Hopefully the sweet times helped you forget the instances when we reduced you to feeling like a goober* or put you through loads of crap.

But please know, you are the best – and that’s no bull*.

You’ve created a large family here for those of us that left, drawing us back like a magnet*, even as you helped us “write” our own scores.

But you should know, we’re on to you. Don’t let me yank your chain -- we’ve got your measure*.

Under the bluster and bust, you’re full of sugar and spice* and everything nice – as wholesome as the oft mentioned, but never materialized, apple pie that you are supposedly known for.

Since I’m still waiting for that pie – may this assortment of puns suffice as a little thank you.

xo Auntie Nettie

THANK YOU PAUL! For 20 years and for so much more!

*bags of assorted nuts
*containers of hand sanitizer
*Sour Patch candies
*Good & Plenty candies
*box of NYC renowned black and white cookies
*Goober candies
*eraser shaped like a big bull
*set of magnets using vintage music scores
*set of nesting measuring spoons on a chain
*Penzey's Baking spice set

40 Diamonds for 40: Journeys with Jane

There are moments of serendipity in life. There's the day you turn a corner in a hallway of your college dorm and come across a sight that makes you laugh and laugh at the incongruity of the scene in front of your eyes. Fast forward, more than twenty years later, and wonderfully two of the submissions for your 40 Diamonds for 40 project come in back to back, perfectly echoing the interweavings of harmony that come from chamber music partners. Those forged bonds of friendships, in and out of practice and classrooms, behind instruments, on stage and off, with verbal and physical shorthands that are only keyed to your core group, echo through the musical cosmos. Even though you don't talk all the time, and only see each other sporadically, you can pick up the threads that make up your relationship-- almost seamlessly.

Jane tells the story best. What she has left out is how wonderful she was to let me try my hand at her harp, not wincing at my tone and technique; how she would let me escape to her houses on Flax Hill Road for visits to The Dutchess for fast food, Trader Joe's for supplies, the thrift shop for deposits and withdrawals, to the yarn stores for supplies, and to Book Aid to "volunteer" -- and take home more books; how she so thankfully warned me about my 19th birthday "surprise" as planned by the girls, to take me to "a show" aka Chippendale's (seriously, THANK YOU for the warning); how she and her parents had/have adopted me and let me accompany them on trips to concerts, fancy restaurants where I got to try mako for the first time, fixed my clothes, given me advice, generally put up with me; how she allowed me to work out my aggressions by basically single-handedly demolishing a room in her house, with a mallet and crowbar, brick-by-brick; and so much more. Jane's been my arty travel buddy, who really knows that it's quality, not quantity, of time spent together.

Not only is Jane a talented string teacher, harpist, friend, but she's also responsible for many of my charming letters and postcards from college.

Brava and Milli Grazie, my friend. Brava!

Dear Auntie Nettie,

When we first met, I was sitting on the dorm hallway floor with an entire door lock in my hand. That moment was the unlocking of our friendship over the last twenty-two years.

After our initial introductions, we found our love of music as a common bond. We played together all four years of college. You could play anything and were the best accompanist a violinist could hope for! As members of Trio Non Sacre (Unholy Trio—named not by us, but the department chair), we enjoyed playing such favorites as “F- You, Martinu!” We must have been pretty good since we found ourselves to be the on-call musicians for various college functions. Not bad considering each rehearsal seemed to start with me playing a strip tease tune while you and Kristen removed coats, scarves, hat and gloves!

After college, you continued to support my musical pursuits, now as a string teacher. My young string students loved the opportunity to visit Caramoor and attend concerts or workshops. We felt that Caramoor was an extension of our classroom.

Because we have very full schedules in the “Ed Biz,” we find it hard to schedule time to do things together. But I’m glad we’ve been able to enjoy lots of things that NYC has to offer---walking the newly-opened Highline, concerts at Carnegie Hall, lunch at Peanut Butter & Co. or A Salt & Battery, and the annual Makers’ Fair.

May you have a wonderful birthday! I look forward to celebrating many more milestone birthdays with you!

Lots of love,
Jane

Postcard Art by Jane, c. the College Years

Sometimes you just feel like screaming!