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This past Sunday, the East Tennessee Concert Band played at Carnegie Hall as part of their Ensemble Spotlight series.

What an experience!

I understand reverence and mystique that the hall has with musicians. That was the most incredible musical experience of my life. That hall makes you play better. The resonance and clarity of the sound was almost startling after years of playing in auditoriums and halls of lesser quality. That was the first time I have ever been able to hear the entire ensemble from my perch in the back 40 while I was playing.

As a result, the band sounded better than I have ever heard it after 6 years of sitting in the back row.

At several points during the dress rehearsal on stage, I closed my eyes and just listened to the music. The dynamic range that the hall affords allows you to just relax, and play the music. ppp's are as clear as the loudest fff's. So you don't have to feel like you're over-playing to get the same dynamic effect.

The program was:

Gavorkna Fanfare - Jack Stamp
Hey! - Timothy Mahr
March (Opus 99) - Prokofieff
Hymn For The Lost And The Living - Eric Ewazen
March To The Scaffold - Berlioz
Variants On A Mediaeval Tune - Norman Dello Joio

Sunday afternoon, I made the trip to Ground Zero. I did it that day to keep the images fresh in my mind when we played the Ewazen. The result was an almost out-of-body experience on stage.

An experience I will certainly never forget.

Oh, and Midtown ain't too shabby, either.

You shoulda heard it before they 'renovated' it in '86.

One of the most striking things is that when you walk out on that stage, the full history of the hall hits you all at once, almost like a physical blow.

Tscaikovsky himself conducted on that same stage opening night in 1897. Mahler conducted there. Bernstein, Walter, Toscanini. Jacobs, Helleberg, Bell, Deck, and countless other giants of our instrument have played there.

Also, for its size, the hall is surprisingly intimate. I was able to look up into the balcony and see the reaction on peoples faces.

I hope I get to play there again in my lifetime.

For a professional Carnegie experience, try the pastrami.

MikeMiller wrote:How does a community band get to play at Carnagie Hall? You guys must be really good!

As I understand it, this privilege can now be bought rather easily. My church choir had plans to go, but there wasn't sufficient interest. I believe the lack of interest was due to the cost, and not to a lack of desire to perform there. At least, that accounted for my not signing up.

Steve - congratulations on a successful concert at Carnegie!!

Sande went with ETCB to London 2 years ago.

We did pay for the privilege to play, and it was a bargain at any price.

How does a community band get to play at Carnagie Hall? You guys must be really good!

Well, we certainly try. Our next stated goal is to play MidWest in Chicago.

As a hamateur, I've had the experience of singing the Berlioz Te Deum in Avery Fisher Hall. This was in May 1987 with the Apollo Chorus of Chicago, two other choruses from the midwest, and a full symphony orchestra conducted by Peter Tiboris. It was the experience of a lifetime. Everytime I watch a concert from Lincoln Center, I can say that I sang on that stage. I know that, for most of the pros, such concerts are routine, but for me, it remains an experience that I continue to treasure and that few can relate to.

During the concert, my biggest fear was wheter the conductor, a very large man, would fall through the podium. He did not, and he, the orchestra, and the soloists, were excellent.

I'll never forget the experience as a member of the Temple University Concert Choir of singing the Verdi Requiem with Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. (I'm dating myself; it was 1978.)

Boy, when that bass drum solo in the Dies Irae resounded in that great space, you could really FEEL it in your, uhh, stomach!