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I’d heard the strains of Mozart’s Turkish March while passing the 14th Street – Union Square Station on the R train before, but it was only this past week that I discovered its source. A small boy, who looked like he wasn’t halfway through elementary school, was magically producing the music. Off to the side, a man with a wooden clapper stood, rhythmically tapping it against the metal posts to provide a live metronome. The performance was not brilliant and the mistakes were detectable even to my amateur ear, but it was definitely astounding and the young performer deserved all our applause and attention. However, the most interesting aspect was after he bowed in all directions, the man watching him came over to review the errors and fine tune the piece. His presentation was a work in progress, and we turned out to be spectators of a class, not a final concert; I hope to listen to the boy improve and perfect his art as I stop by.

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Quietly behind Gramercy Park is the former residence of Edwin Booth. Yes, Booth, as in John Wilkes Booth’s brother. While most famously known as the assassin of Lincoln, John came from a family of actors and patrons of the arts. His brother, Edwin, created The Players Club in his home, a gathering place for professionals of the arts and business worlds. Between having the most extensive 19th c. theatre library in the world and portraits of every member of the the Club (living and deceased), the Club is packed full of things to admire. Come here on Fridays at noon for a bonus of jazz performances over lunch, led by Les Leiber, a 99 year old who’s been leading his band of lawyers and businessmen for 45 years.

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The New York Korea KBS concert was packed with thousands of people, many of whom had been waiting for the 6PM concert’s start. One would expect the crowds of Korean-Americans, old and young, but young Americans were a significant, though smaller, group. While it’s strange for me to hear the names of my favorites groups in Cantonese from Asian faces, hearing them in Americanized accents from African Americans or Russians always strikes me enough to stop and stare for half a second.

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