For the first few years I visited New York City I absolutely saw taxi cabs as an expensive way to travel and treated it as a luxury I could not afford. From the airport to mid-town I would use a shared ride service like Super Shuttle. While in the city I would rely on the subway and walking.
In 2004 upon arriving at JFK airport, I was feeling most ill. Now anyone who has used a shared-ride shuttle van knows someone will be dropped off first and someone will be dropped off last. Based on my experiences with staying at midtown hotels in Times Square, I was normally the last passenger dropped off at my destination. This is after riding in a shuttle that one time took two hours for my drop off. So I did the most practical thing to get me to the hotel to rest. I caught a taxi from JFK to my hotel. If I recall correctly the fare with tip and tolls was about $60 back then. It was one of the best decisions I ever made. I made it to my hotel in what seemed like minutes compared to my experiences with shuttle vans.
Now I mainly use taxi to and from the airport in most cities I visit. But once in the city I'll use the mass transit services available. It's still part of the my positive travel experiences to use the subway in New York City or the tube in London.
This was before Uber and along with Lyft it appears they are gaining a huge market share of trips at the loss of New York City taxi drivers.
Business Insider reports how the value of a NYC medallion, which allows the right to operate a cab in the city, was recently listed at $250,000. In 2014, the article reports the value was about $1.3 million.
A chart in the report shows in April 2015 taxis accounted for 84% of rides in New York. In April 2016, taxis accounted for 65% of rides.
Right now I don't plan to switch to Uber or Lyft when I'm in the New York at least. But there is one place where I really cannot handle the games taxi drivers play which is in Las Vegas. Next time I'm there I'll be calling an Uber.
Click the link below for the Business Insider article:
Here is a wonderful video from Wendover Productions via YouTube about the economics of long-haul flights. It also helps to show why the airlines may use certain planes on certain routes to certain airports and why non-stop flights may or may not be available and how it may affect the cost of your airline ticket.
It's a lot explained in the 10-minute video and worth every minute to watch.
Who knew when Andrew Lloyd Webber's 'The Phantom of the Opera' opened at Her Majesty's Theatre in London on October 9th, 1986 (how old were you back then?), that it will remain in the city at the same theatre 30 years later.
The show may outlive the current name of the theatre. When the next male British monarch ascends the throne, the name of the venue will be changed back to His Majesty's Theatre.
From Wikipedia: The name of the theatre changes with the sex of the monarch. It first became the King's Theatre in 1714 on the accession of George I. It was renamed Her Majesty's Theatre in 1837. Most recently, the theatre was known as His Majesty's Theatre from 1901 to 1952, and it became Her Majesty's on the accession of Elizabeth II. The theatre's capacity is 1,216 seats, and the building was Grade II* listed by English Heritagein 1970. Really Useful Theatres has owned the building since 2000. The land beneath it is on a long-term lease from the Crown Estate.
It includes a look back at the thirty years of Phantom, a conversation with Lloyd Webber & producer Cameron Mackintosh, and performances from the show's past and present stars including Sierra Boggess, Michael Ball, Ben Forster and Michael Crawford. The celebration took place on October 10th, 2016.
A few years ago I learned about an Abandoned Fake Disneyland in China, now I learn via The Huffington Post of a similar abandoned park in Japan. The main difference is the park in China was never opened. The park in Japan, called Nara Dreamland, opened in 1961 and closed 45 years later.
Remnants of the park still remains based on some of the photos in the article which are posted below. Many of the photos are from the hardcover book "Ask The Dust" by Romain Veillon.
In a Chicago Tribune illustration, 'Hamilton' creator Lin-Manuel Miranda depicted on the $10 bill. (photo credit:Michel Miner)
With a monster Broadway hit like 'Hamilton' gathering so much publicity, the show also made the news rounds for the behind-the-scenes negotiating of a profit sharing deal between the actors and lead producer Jeffrey Seller.
The outcome was 22 of the show's actors, some who are no longer in the show, who helped to create the show during its Off-Broadway run, will receive 1 percent of net profits from the New York production as well as .33 percent of the net profits from Chicago and all other U.S productions.
Recently an in-depth article in Bloomberg details what is probably intended to be confidential communications of how the deal was reached. It is fascinating reading and the result will likely be a rollover into shows that are expected to be the next big hit. It also adds another layer to the difficult economics of Broadway where only about a quarter of the plays and musicals turn a profit. Click the link below for the full article.
Kevin Costner in the film "The Bodyguard" (photo credit: Warner Bros.)
This post just lists the other actors who have played Frank Farmer in 'The Bodyguard' musical outside of London. There are other future productions besides that are on the boards but the role originated by Kevin Costner has not been cast in those versions yet.
There is no short of press of the actresses playing the Whitney Houston role of Rachel Marron in all of these productions. At present for the US Tour actress/singer Deborah Cox is already making the talk shows and news and media featuring her easy to find.
UK & Ireland Tour: Stuart Reid as Frank Farmer (opened Feb 2015-closed Jun 2016):
Follow Stuart on Twitter
Stuart Reid (photo credit: BWH)
Stuart Reid as Frank Farmer (photo image: Paul Coltas)
Netherlands: Dave Mantel & Mark van Eeuwen shared the role of Frank Farmer (opened Sep 2015)
Follow Dave on Twitter. Follow Mark on Twitter.
Dave Mantel and Mark van Eeuwen (photo credit: Roy Beusker)
Dave Mantel as Frank Farmer (photo credit: Roy Beusker)
Germany: Jurgen Fischer portrays Frank Farmer (opened Nov 2015)
'The Bodyguard' productions in Australia (2017) has not announced the actor cast for the role. The Toronto (2017) production has announced that the London revival cast with Ben Richards as Frank Farmer will transfer for the Canadian premiere run.
Tristan Gemmill took over the role of Frank Farmer in 'The Bodyguard' musical which at the time was playing London's Adelphi Theatre. Gemmill is incidentally the actor I saw in the role when I finally saw the musical in April 2014.
Gemmill definitely looked and played the part quite well on stage. When I saw the show I knew very little of what the stage production was like. So when Gemmill appears on stage I was wondering which Whitney Houston song he'll be singing as the song titles were plastered all over the theater in advertising. At intermission I finally looked at the song credits and find that Farmer's character has no songs to sing.
Gemmill was born in 1967 in England and is well known to British television audiences. Looking at his IMDB.com page, the actor has many television and movie credits but none would appear to be titles known to American audiences.
His latest television role is a 2016 run on the long-running UK soap series "Coronation Street." Gemmill's run in 'The Bodyguard' was from September 2013 to August 2014.
Lloyd Owen as Frank Farmer in 'The Bodyguard' (image: Paul Coltas)
After posting about Ben Richards starring in the London return of the 'The Bodyguard' stage musical, I thought it might be fun to take a look at the other actors who have the played the role. There haven't been too many of them despite the various worldwide productions and a run in the West End of almost two years. You'll notice the actors are cut from a similar stone look-wise and that is probably an intention by those involved in casting. Owen stayed with the musical from its previews in November 2012 to September 2013 when Tristan Gemmill took over the role.
(photo credit: CBS Television)
The first actor to play Frank Farmer (the Kevin Costner role) on stage was British television actor Lloyd Owen. Now before anyone thinks this musical cannot be taken seriously, it was surprisingly supported by the West End community as 'The Bodyguard' was nominated for four Laurence Oliver Awards (the equivalent of the Tony Awards in the US) including Best Musical, Best Actress (Heather Headley), Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical (Debbie Kurup) and Best Set Design.
Owen did not receive a nomination but the actor got zero songs to sing in a musical. The two actresses who got nominated really sings all of the songs in the show. I'm guessing since they were oringally done by Whitney Houston all of them had to be sung by a woman.
Now before anyone brings it up, the actor playing Frank Farmer does sing a snippet of one of the songs in the show but it's in fun and lasts only a few seconds. At least the actor is also given a few dance moves too.
Lloyd Owen (born Apr 15, 1966) has had three fairly interesting roles on television that some American audience members may recognize. In the "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles" (1992-1993), Owen played Professor Henry Jones, Sr. to Sean Patrick Flannery's Indiana Jones.
From 2007 is probably a role he'd like to forget on the infamous television musical series "Viva Laughlin" that aired only two episodes before it was cancelled. At least the series had two other higher profile actors which probably mitigated Owen's exposure in the media. Those two actors: Hugh Jackman and Melanie Griffith.
Just last year, Owen had a regular supporting role in "You, Me and the Apocalypse" about an array of characters dealing with the last days of earth. Owen played the president of the United States.
His latest stage role was starring in 'The End of Longing' which also stars Matthew Perry (TV's "Friends") and is Perry's playwriting debut. The limited run ended in May 2016 and is expected to be presented in New York in 2017. It is unknown if the London cast will transfer with the show.
Below is a video with the actor and actress Headley promoting 'The Bodyguard' musical in London.
Lloyd's Credits
Television credits include:
Silent Witness Series 19 (BBC), Death In Paradise Series 5 (Red Planet/BBC), You, Me And The Apocalypse (Working Title/NBC Universal/Sky 1),The Originals Series 2 (The CW), Midsomer Murders Series 17: ‘A Vintage Murder’ (ITV), Fairly Legal Series 2 (USA Network), Taking The Flak (BBC),Inside The Box (ABC Pilot), Inseparable (ABC Pilot), Viva Laughlin (BBC for CBS), Calais Rules (BBC Pilot), The Innocence Project (BBC), Ghost Squad(Company Pictures/C4), The Monarch Of The Glen Series 4, 5, 6 & 7(Ecosse/BBC Scotland), The Vice (Carlton), Coupling (BBC), Dead Gorgeous(Carlton Productions), Wire In The Blood (Coastal Productions), Hearts & Bones(United Broadcasting), Gypsy Girl (Film and General Prods), Get Real(ITV), The Cinder Path (ITV), The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles(LucasFilm/Paramount), The Story Of Frankenstein (YTV), Stay Lucky (YTV), The Chief (Anglia TV), Forever Green(ITV), Boon (Central TV).
Theatre credits include:
Good People(Hampstead Theatre/Noël Coward Theatre), Stuff Happens National Theatre Live: 50 Years On Stage(National Theatre), The BodyguardNominated for the Best Actor In A Musical Award, Whatsonstage.com Awards, 2013 (Adelphi Theatre), Loyalty (Hampstead Theatre), Blood And Gifts(National Theatre), Paul (National Theatre), Clouds (Cambridge Arts Theatre/No 1Tour), Iphigenia (Crucible Theatre), The York Realist (Royal Court/West End/ETT), Edward Ii (Crucible Theatre), Julius Caesar (Young Vic), The Way Of The World(Manchester Royal Exchange), Morphic Resonance (Donmar Warehouse), Closer (Lyric Theatre), Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf(Almeida/Aldwych), East Lynne (Greenwich Theatre), Grab The Dog (NT Studio), Our Boys (Donmar Warehouse), Henry Vi: Part Iii (RSC), Hamlet (Haymarket Theatre, Leicester), Twelfth Night (Cheek by Jowl), Macbeth, The Tempest, Philoctetes, The Parquet Floor (Young Vic), The Passport (Young Vic).
Film credits include:
Free Ride (Aberration Films), Apollo 18 (Dimension Films), Miss Potter (The Weinstein Company), The Republic Of Love(Dan Films), Get The Picture(Picture Farm), Between Dreams (Irish Film Board/RTE).
Radio credits include:
Michael Frayn’s Matchbox Theatre, The School for Scandal, ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Goldfinger, The Crooked Hat, The Rivals and Keep Your Pantheon by David Mamet.
Lloyd was a member of the National Youth Theatre and trained at RADA.
Ben Richards as Frank Farmer in 'The Bodyguard' musical (image: Paul Coltas)
'The Bodyguard' stage musical adaptation of the 1992 Whitney Houston & Kevin Costner has returned to London's West End now playing the Dominion Theatre. When I saw the production in 2014, I felt that one of the most unusual things about the Costner role of Frank Farmer on stage is despite being the male leading character, the writers decided to make the part a non-singing role.
Currently Ben Richards stars in the Costner role on stage. The actor can sing based upon his performance as a replacement in the London stage musical production of 'Priscilla, Queen of the Desert' which I saw back in 2010. The actor was already popular from his series acting on British television and brought a new hunkiness to the role of Tick in the musical especially in the scene that had him dress down to nothing but his underpants which likely helped to draw some audience members to the show.
The West End revival of 'The Bodyguard' opened in July 2016 for a limited run until January 2017. The cast is expected to transfer for the Toronto premiere of the musical.
Click here for a Q&A with the actor on Broadway.com. The 44-year-old actor also discussed in a The Sun article about being cancer-free for the past four years. Below is a recent interview with Richards. Learn more about the actor by visiting benrichards.com or on twitter.
Television includes: Ben Bradley in Hollyoaks; Mr Kit in Doctors; PC Nate Roberts in The Bill; Justin in Holby City;Gayle Tuesday; Bruno Milligan in Footballers Wives, Footballers Wives Extra Time; and Dad. Ben also appeared as a judge on the second series of Strictly Dance Fever for BBC 1.
Film includes: Chakara, Julie and the Cadillacs and Bring me the Head of MavisDavis.
Recordings include: original cast recordings for Grease, Hot Mikado, and Radio Times. He has also recorded songs and shot videos for both Singers Inc. Vol 1 and 2.
"The Talented Mr. Ripley" is one of my favorite films that I viewed it again last night. The 1999 movie stars Matt Damon as the title character. IMDB summarizes the film: "The 1950s. Manhattan lavatory attendant, Tom Ripley, borrows a Princeton jacket to play piano at a garden party. When the wealthy father of a recent Princeton grad chats Tom up, Tom pretends to know the son and is soon offered $1,000 to go to Italy to convince Dickie Greenleaf to return home. In Italy, Tom attaches himself to Dickie and to Marge, Dickie's cultured fiancee, pretending to love jazz and harboring homoerotic hopes as he soaks in luxury. Besides lying, Tom's talents include impressions and forgery, so when the handsome and confident Dickie tires of Tom, dismissing him as a bore, Tom goes to extreme lengths to make Greenleaf's privileges his own."
In a very early scene Tom is seen walking up a metal staircase from his basement apartment. From this below-stairs existence, he is chauffeured in a limousine to the cruise liner that will whisk him off to Europe in first class. In the background is melancholy melody which I thought all these years was an operatic aria. It feels mournful for his past he is leaving behind but is hopeful in a gentle way about what is about to come. In the video below, the music starts at about 6:33.
After nearly seventeen years, I finally took the time to find the music credit by pausing the ending credits of the film. Only about a minute is played in the movie so I wanted to find the full-lenth of the song.
After a search on iTunes I found the exact recording. It comes from Johann Sebastian Bach's St. Matthew Passion and titled BMW 244. No 65 Aria (Bass) "Mache Dich, Mein Herze, Rein" and written in 1727. Wikipedia indicates the full Passion composition is widely regarded as one of the masterpieces of classical sacred music.
The recording is conducted by Karl Richter and the vocal is by Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (1925-2012), a German lyric baritone and conductor of classical music.
It's a song I'll add to my "Music to Travel By Collection". For some reason at a particular moment especially when I travel, I often imagine a soundtrack of what music would be playing at a moment. Somehow this captures a feeling of awakening or discovery maybe on a quiet early morning in some a city away from home.
The film is an excellent thriller with outstanding performances by the three leads and supporting cast. But most of all you'll love the Italian locations where most of the movie was filmed.
This portion of the Passion runs seven minutes and repeats a short lyric in German:
Mache dich, mein Herze, rein, Ich will Jesum selbst begraben. Denn er soll nunmehr in mir Für und für Seine süße Ruhe haben. Welt, geh aus, laß Jesum ein!
This is translated as:
Make yourself pure, my heart, I want to bury Jesus myself. For from now on He shall have in me, forever and ever, His sweet rest. World, get out, let Jesus in!
The video below includes the full seven-minute version.
Even though the chance to make a professional website did not materialize (see my post on 9/21/16), the inspiration to continue this blog did flourish. Part of it is thanks to violinist Eric Silberger who I saw perform last month at the Hawaii International Music Festival. I thought it would be great to lead off the website with an interview with the artist as I was quite impressed with seeing him perform on a local morning news program to promote the festival which was only reinforced as an attendee seeing the rising star play the violin live at the festival.
Because of the demands of his schedule in continuing the festival events to the neighbor islands we were finally able to touch base a week after the the festival's Honolulu performance via telephone. It is with great appreciation for his graciousness and for the opportunity.
As I dispensed with my alternate travel website to return to this blog, my apologies to Mr. Silberger that it took an additional month to present the published interview; (Note: Due to technical issues with the alternate beta-website and incomplete transfer of the HTML code to this blog, much of the original interview article has been rebuilt.)
ERIC SILBERGER VIA LONG DISTANCE
The Hopeful Traveler had the wonderful opportunity to interview virtuoso violinist Eric Silberger a week after the last events of the Hawaii International Music Festival which he co-founded and co-organized. Mr. Silberger was back in the East Coast during the long-distance conversation. One immediate observation about Eric is he is quite eloquent and very organized in presenting his thoughts to each question.
At the festival’s Honolulu engagement, a couple of women were having a conversation during the intermission and were wondering about his background. In Hawaii many people identify themselves very closely to their ethnic heritage, the 27-year-old artist who is Chinese, Hungarian and British does not define himself in that way. He says he’s just Eric and as he travels around the globe playing the world’s stages he keeps finding different perspectives of himself.
However music is in his blood. Eric is a fourth generation musician and begun violin studies at the age at five. He holds both a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a Master of Music Degree from The Juilliard School. Learning his craft the person to most influence him as a musician would be the late conductor, violinist and composer Lorin Maazel (1930-2014) of whom he speaks respectively and fondly. In a very personal essay for slippedisc.com, Eric leads the article with what Maazel once told him “always remain humble, our friendship depends on it” and recounts his time with Maazel at Castleton, from which the festival that Maazel founded is named and which nurtures young artists. Being part of the Castleton festival and learning from Maazel, Eric also writes that his mentor was always very encouraging both personally and musically. It would not be an understatement that this is a highlight and very close memory in his growth and career as an artist.
There is one line in Eric’s essay where he reveals he will miss not only the music that Maazel brought to the world, but also his external optimism, belief, fearlessness, and most of all his sincerity. It appears Eric has taken his experiences with Maazel to heart: On the phone Eric displays a tone of authenticity, genuineness and positivity. This may be part of the reason why critics in their music reviews recognize not only his artistry on the violin but his charisma on stage.
But why introduce a festival in of all places Hawaii? Eric said he heard good things about the islands and the people that with soprano Amy Shoremount-Obra and pianist Carlin Ma found it would be inspirational to inaugurate a music festival for Hawaii. How it came all together was both by organized madness and happy accidents. The festival at the Blaisdell Concert Hall opened with a chocolate tasting presented by Will Lydgate. Eric met the chocolate connoisseur while on a layover at the airport in Barcelona. He was also already a colleague of cellist Daniel Lelchuk and with the additional contributions of pianist Ian Parker, taiko master Kenny Endo and soprano Mikayla Sager, the founders had a full line-up for the festival’s premiere concert performances that played Honolulu, Maui and the Big Island.
One of the more dazzling and unusual combinations at the festival was a melding of the talents of Endo, Shoremount-Obra, Lelchuk, Parker, Ma and Eric into “Tears of the Earth/Jugoya”. It was a piece that one could say spanned continents and cultures. Eric admits that Shoremount-Obra’s vocal contribution was improvised. He added that one of the many challenges of putting the festival together was working with all the artists to put together the program that honors the festival’s intentions.
Eric looks forward to presenting the festival’s second year in 2017 and mentions the emerging music of JP Jofre, a bandeonist, as a possibility. The bandoneon is an essential instrument in most tango ensembles and folk music. JP (Jean Pablo) Jofre is an Argentinian musician, composer and arranger whose debut album called “Hard Tango” is described as “classical-tango hybrid” by the New York Times.
So what would be a perfect day for Eric? Maybe a vacation. Because of his extensive traveling and performance schedule a vacation means something different to him than to most people. He may have a day off here or there but he likes practicing and preparing for a performance that this is a source of enjoyment for him and does not feel like work at all. He has become a seasoned performer that he says he does not get nervous performing live anymore but he does feel the adrenaline and has since gotten used to it. Outside of playing any music, he seemed uncertain what kind of day that would be like and said it will only be different from day to day.
Eric hopes that recordings are a part of his future and is expecting one to be released soon on digital and CD platforms that will include a couple of violin sonatas. That brought on the question that as a musician, what would Eric be listening to. He says his music tastes are diverse and could include artists of soul/R&B to country music. But Eric is also on the lookout for the music of up and coming artists, perhaps to invite for the next Hawaii International Music Festival. Possibly even composing himself may be down the line.
So you may ask why “Eric Silberger Virtuoso Violinist of Two Volcanoes” well that’s because of two videos that are available on YouTube. One of which films Eric as the first violinist to play inside a volcano in Iceland and a second video he made during his travels to the Big Island of Hawaii in August where he plays the violin at Volcanoes National Park, the location of active Kilauea crater. He’ll likely be the only violinist ever to make this dual claim. The two videos are posted below. He has noted elsewhere of the Hawaii video that “at one particular moment of the video I could hear the wind play the violin together with me.”
Eric plays a rare violin from 1757 and performing in unusual locations present hazards to the instrument. He says he takes no extra special precautions when traveling (his violin is a carry-on on planes) but when playing outdoors he took the precaution of having a second violin available.
One purpose that Eric said he looks forward to fulfill is to connect with people to find a sustainability in the arts. Although not likely within this intention The Hopeful Traveler mentions that he found a connection to Eric’s television appearance playing Paganini because of musical theatre. Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber who adapted that Paganini composition for a rock band is a huge influence in the Hopeful Traveler post archives and travels. Eric says of musical theatre that he finds it is something amazing of how all the parts come together. When Eric mentions Maazel, the first thing that came to The Hopeful Traveler’s mind is the conductor’s contribution to Lloyd Webber “Requiem” mass which produced the hit single “Pie Jesu”. But it was the connection in hearing Eric perform the Paganini piece on the news that lead to attending the Hawaii International Music Festival which lead to the interview and to this blog post about Eric. And there you have it. We never know how music will connect or inspire each of us in the future but in some way it manages to do so.
Learn more about Eric by visiting his official website at ericsilberger.com or by searching for Violinist Eric Silberger on Facebook (or just click HERE).
Hear Eric on JP Jofre's Hard Tango Chamber Band's Manifesto available on Amazon.com (MP3 and CD) and on iTunes.
The Hawaii International Music Festival had its Oahu premiere performance on Wednesday August 10th 2016 at the Blaisdell Concert Hall. The show promised an evening to "thrill the senses". And it did just that from the beginning. Chocolate farmer Will Lydgate lead the audience through a chocolate tasting. A free sample packet was given to each guest at the door.
It was a very different kind of start to a live music performance. I may not be much better at recognizing the nuances of flavors but it was interesting to learn about the subtle differences of finely made chocolates. (Visit steelgrass.org & manoachocolate.com for more information)
Then it was onto the main event. The program looked short even with the listed 15-minute intermission. But it turned out to be an exquisite two-plus hour evening of fine live music and singing. Of the vocal performances, Amy Shoremount-Obro (Soprano) offered a silvery rendition of the rarely performed "Ch'il bel sogno" from Giacomo Puccini's opera "La Rondine". It was a song that I have long loved since I first heard it over twenty-five years ago by Andrew Lloyd Webber's then wife Sarah Brightman. Webber produced an album with Brightman singing songs from unsuccessful musicals ("The Songs That Got Away").
Mikayla Sager gave the audience a crowd-pleaser with melody of "Csardas" from the opera 'Die Fledermaus' by Johann Strauss Jr.
Now if you asked anyone in the audience tonight if George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" could still sound grand performed by a solo pianist there would have been likely many doubters. But Ian Parker delivered the familiar composition with cheers from the audience to close out the first part of the show.
Opening the second portion of the festival, renowned taiko master drummer Kenny Endo was joined by Shormount-Obra, Parker, violinist Eric Silberger and cellist Daniel Lelchuk for "Tears of the Earth" and "Jugoya (Crystal Clearn Moon)". It was an unusual combination but the melding of talents was fascinating that somewhere down the road this should be saved as a recording.
Silberger whose elegant violin performance of the baroque "Chaconne" by Tomaso Antonio Vitali pulled and prepared the audience for the upcoming musical delights. Lelchuk and Silberger again delighted the evening's attendees with cello/violin duo of "Passacaglia" by Handel Halvorsen.
Most of the numbers performed this evening were unfamiliar to this viewer which should be part of the purpose of the festival to help the audience discover these pieces. Balance them with the familiar and it's a way to draw in the audience into each number.
Silberger, Shormount-Obra and Carlin Ma founded and organized the festival's inaugural year. This is no small feat and I was glad to be in attendance that night. Ma served as a partial host for the evening. Perhaps an addition for future concerts would be short presentations to talk about the music or the artists while crew is preparing the stage for the next performance. It is with hope more people will discover the festival in its annual incarnations and that the organizers can keep the tickets affordable (tickets at the Blaisdell were $30) and the program varied with such talented and invested artists as the ones who shared their music that night.
" by Romain Veillon.
