Make Music New York (6/21/23)

It’s that time of the year again. The solstice always brings Make Music New York—free music events spread all over the city. I kept my choices Manhattan-centric this summer and, as usual, bit off a little more than I could chew. My chosen five were classical piano at 11:00am, outdoor jazz at noon, Old Father Eternity at 3:00pm, a violin duo (Miolina) at 4:00pm, and outdoor a cappella vocal at 6:45pm. Oh, I also snuck in Sousapalooza at 2:00pm-ish Are you tired yet?

Finding the first venue turned out to be a chore—Freeman Plaza at Hudson Square. Hudson Square is near the Hudson River, not near Hudson Street. Along the way I passed through Cavali Park and Duarte Square. Cavali Park had dancers going through their paces, but not quite what I was looking for. Duarte Square was also not quite what I was looking for. Aha! I found Freeman Plaza. There was a piano (covered) there. I was a few minutes early. (Hello! I'm a Mallard!) 11:00am came and went. 11:15 came and went. When I figured that the pianist was probably a no show, I just went. 

I still made it up to 63rd and Broadway in time to hear the beginning of the jazz quartet, Eric Person’s Soul Saturation. The jazz was pretty good. And there was a good-sized crowd. The tunes were announced by the saxophonist, Eric Person. The only tune that was vaguely familiar to me was Duke Ellington’s “Caravan” (actually, the rhythms were more familiar than the tune was). They took a break after forty-five minutes, and I started walking to my next venue, grabbing a cup of lentil soup along the way. It may have been the first day of summer, but it was definitely cool enough for soup.

I got to my next venue (58th Street Library) with time to spare, so I strolled over to hear a little bit of Sousapalooza. This was an amateur group of about forty musicians playing Sousa marches. I recognized the conductor from at least one other MMNY, so I felt right at home. He was announcing the pieces, but it was very hard to hear him. At any rate, most of the pieces were familiar to me. Except for one. A dirge march, written for the funeral of President Garfield. Apparently, the piece was also played many years later for Sousa’s funeral. The things you learn off the beaten track. I wasn't even planning on doing Sousapalooza. I’m glad I did.

Old Father Eternity was neither old nor a father. It also started at 3:15 instead of 3:00. Not a biggie. Neither was the crowd. Only about eight people, one of whom was the artist’s mother (whose phone went off!) and two were library employees. Old Father Eternity, a female, was a fairly modern folk guitarist and singer. Pleasant enough, and she composed at least one of the songs on the program.

A brisk walk took me to the 76th Street Library for Miolina, the violin duo. Alas, this duo playing only music from after 2003 led to much scratching and screeching. The audience was five people, including one library employee. And one audience member left. The music was very hard to take, although it was very well composed.

I Cancelled Uptown Sound, since it was already cocktail hour, and I didn’t want to kill all that time just to end up at 100 Central Park West. I think I made the right choice, for me.

All in all, a successful Make Music New York experience. I’m so glad I discovered this.

ConcertMeister