So today was yet another first as I made my way to Carnegie Hall. It was quite obvious I had never been there as I tried every entrance but the correct one. For class we went to meet Jeremy Geffen, who organizes and selects the performances to be shown at Carnegie Hall. He mentioned to us that he sees hundreds of performances to select from and it takes him a couple of years to completely plan one event. He expressed his desires for upcoming shows but those are in the beginning stages of planning while there are some that he is working on now to be completed in 2013-2014. Geffen holds a very influential position in New York, supplying entertainment to the city, and he expressed his appreciation and gratitude when he watches his image come to life.

Later that day we went to see the Chinese Festival at Carnegie Hall. My first impression was on the room itself. I was wondering why we were in such a small room. Although I never saw the large auditoium or the main room, I could just imagine how grand and magnificent it must be. However the size of the room did not affect the performance at all. If anything it helped make the event more personal because we were closer to the performance. The first performer stepped on stage and surprised me because he was not Chinese as I had expected. Nonetheless, he was highly talented and his fingers moved at incredible speed and precision. The changes in the speed, not only in how he pressed the keys but in how his body moved, was intriguing. You could almost determine how the next note would sound before he even played it. The second and third performance is when I started losing focus. I guess it was the repetition and length of these performances. It wasn't necessarily boring but it also was not as exciting as the percussion performance that followed. The percussion performance was by far my favorite. The collaborative effort of the three musicians was amazing. They were in perfect harmony and unison, mainly due to their breathing which signaled when to start and stop. This was another case where the speed of the drummers hand moved at an incredible pace. They were able to use four drumsticks at once and use all the gongs on the table as well as those around them. The loudness of the percussion instruments captivated my attention unlike the previous two performances and i started "air drumming" from my seat. The final piece, was another performance that grabbed my attention. The music sounded familiar to me, like it was something from a movie scene. The percussion instruments in this piece were larger and provided another scenario in which I was playing along with them. The movement of the performers gave the impression that they were really having a great time, which was pleasant to watch. It is nice to know that the performers were enjoying themselves, otherwise how could they expect us to. The clarinet player amazed me with her ability to take in such deep breaths and hold them long enough to finish the note. The violinists were also spectacular as they were sliding their hands up and down the strings to hit the next note, all the while stroking the strings with the bow.  

Now I can scratch off seeing classical music performed at Carnegie Hall from my list. It was yet another great experience, but I look forward to see the large room at Carnegie Hall. This event was informative, thought provoking and inspiring as I now look to see other classical music performance perhaps from other origins, not just Chinese.