A New York travelogue
I’m back from NYC! It was quite a week, which I had the very good fortune to share with one of our board members, Jane Wellehan. Together, we traipsed about the city by taxi, subway, bus, and foot.
We hit the streets running with a day at the Under the Radar festival and four performances at the Public Theater. The New York Times recently featured the festival and many of the performances we saw on the cover of the “Arts” section, still available online if you missed it.
In a private studio listening session, way over on the West Side, where the only other businesses were car repair shops (yes, we did ask the taxi to wait while we made sure we had the correct address), Jane and I entered a non-descript building and went up many floors on a cramped elevator to hear clarinetist David Krakauer in a new project, Abraham, Inc., which featured among its many talented collaborators trombonist Fred Wesley and MC (and “beat architect”) So-Called. A sold-out concert at Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall in December 2006 marked the first step in this collaborative venture. The international tour will be launched later this spring with a concert at the Apollo Theater.
One of the standouts was going to Williamsburg and choreographer Elizabeth Streb’s studio SLAM. Her athletic dancers propelled themselves through space, hitting the mats with such force as to elicit audible cries from many of us in the audience. Streb hosted Chicago’s 500 Clowns and the enchanting Strange Fruit from Australia, which featured dancers on 20-foot swaying poles.
The Brasil Guitar Duo was a favorite at the showcase for young classical players. Unfortunately, I had to leave to get to another event before hearing the Parker String Quartet, touted as one of the young string quartets to watch.
At Joe’s Pub, cellist Maya Baiser unveiled her new project, Provenance, which features a percussionist and oud player in a mesmerizing, sonic bridge that aims to span cultural and religious divides.
While in New York, the Limón Dance Company celebrated founding choreographer José’s 100th birthday. Immediately following the NYC Centennial Gala, the company headed to Mexico City, where the festivities and honors continued. More on Limón and the upcoming PCA program coming soon….
Over at the Blue Note, I caught the last set of the evening with Cuban jazz great Paquito D’Rivera and the Grammy Awarding-winning New York Voices, which features among its members Darmon Meader, who studied at USM’s School of Music.
And these are just a few of the highlights!
On the second to last day, there was threat of snow, which never happened but sent everyone into a tizzy and left me walking around the city in the rain wearing a long, wool coat. (Umbrellas are inconvenient.) Meanwhile, staff and family text-messaged from Maine telling me we were getting hit once again with another storm. Flying back into Portland was a beautiful and welcome sight.
