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Hilary's New York Adventure - June 10, 2009
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Dear Readers,
I'm sitting in transit again, as so often seems to be the case when I write to you. This time, however, wall outlets are not an issue. There is one right in front of me. My power cord's plug-in attachment keeps working its way loose and falling onto the computer keyboard, but that's neither here nor there, so to speak.
This is the final stretch of my '08/'09 concert season. At this moment, I'm heading to New York. This was originally a week off for me, but two opportunities arose which I couldn't turn down. The first was a recital on Town Hall's Free for All series on June 14. That was appealing for a few reasons. Least, that it would be a good way to return to my recital program before flying to South America for my first tour there. More importantly, that I was excited to be part of this series, which offers all tickets for free to concertgoers. I think that is an excellent treat for any public. My dad used to win tickets on radio contests when I was little, and although my parents paid for plenty of concerts too, it was always such a luxury to go for free. It made us feel special. So it's nice to turn that around to an entire hall full of people.
Another reason I'm happy to take part? I'm thrilled to be playing in Town Hall. That was the big venue in town way back when, and as a result, so many of my very favorite violinists made their debuts in that hall. It is really an honor for me to play there.
And then I found out that my old friend Josh Ritter is performing at SummerStage in Central Park with the New York City Pops; he asked me to play a specific song with him on that show on the 12th. I've never played in Central Park before, and I haven't seen or heard Josh since our Japan tour in January, so of course I jumped at the chance. For touring musicians, the opportunity to cross paths is rare and welcome. And for me, maintaining that collaboration is refreshing. I hop around a lot, week to week, collaboration to collaboration. It's nice to see one last and take on a calm momentum in the process.
So here I am, in a refrigerated vehicle on the way to New York. The next few days are pretty full. I have a meeting this evening with the director of a music school in the city, to discuss a concept I had for a class for soon-to-graduate musicians. (I don't teach, but that doesn't mean I can't come up with more work for other people to take on!) Of course, I have to practice a fair amount every day, so practicing will be a priority. I'll also have rehearsals and I'm conducting a series of interviews of composers for Sequenza 21. I'll let you know when those are posted. And then I take off for South America. Which is incredibly exciting. And then, after that tour, I have a vacation. In which I will disappear to, I don't know, Timbuktu or some other such place. A girl's gotta catch her breath every now and then.
Yours from the road,
Hilary
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