Make Music NY

On the longest day of the year (and one of the hottest) R ventured into NYC to participate with the band as part of NYC's "Make Music NY" musical event.  Originally I was going to take the kids and go and watch but the heat scared us away.  Now, I wish I would have gone.  The pictures only begin to tell the story, and don't at all convey the fun listening experience that this concert provided.

Here is a little background...
Alvin Curan, the composer, wrote some music called "Maritime Rites".  Not a traditional piece of music, you can read more about it here.  He adapted his piece of music and it was performed by the band and the Montcair State University Symphonic Band in rowboats on the lake in Central Park.

Band members sat in row boats, rowed by volunteers, as they floated around on the lake and played.  Rather than a conductor, each row boat had a person with a stopwatch, and one row boat had a person with a big orange flag.  At the lowering of the flag, everyone started their stop watches.  Then, they played.  What to play when, was notated in the written music by time intervals.  Sometimes specific pitches were notated and other times just general directions were given indicating the texture of the sound.  The whole piece lasted 42 minutes.  Unlike a symphonic piece with a melody that flows through the music, this piece was more of a musical landscape, music like you hear if you stop and listen to the sounds going on around you in the environment.

R said it turned out really cool.  They had rehearsed it ahead of time, but in a rehearsal hall. But since it was performed in moving boats with instruments playing in all different directions and places on the lake, that were constantly changing, he didn't know what it was really going to sound like until they actually performed it.  I wish I could have heard it.

Here are some pictures from the event.  All of the percussionists were in their own row boats.  R's rower was wearing a bright green shirt so it makes it easy to spot him.

R waving to a friend who was taking his picture before the event started.

Looking across the lake towards the boat house.

Spectators in front of the fountain.

Another view of players and spectators.

Can you find R in this picture?

If you want to see all of the pictures, go here and enter the password Publicity.