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Singing Adventure

I (along with over 100 ensemble members) will be singing at Carnegie Hall on Saturday. We had our first rehearsal today as a group; we are made of members from other groups who have already rehearsed the piece, Faure's Requiem.

While I have sometimes driven to Greensboro to sing in an ensemble, it has been quite a while since I traveled for a gig, staying in a hotel. I believe that only other times were when my university Concert Band toured twice (once through Texas, once through Puerto Rico). I have very good memories of my stand partner (Steve McKenna) and I exploring on our free times, seeing Billy Joel in San Antonio and getting tickets the same day of the concert even though he was at the top of the charts that year.

To be cost-effective I am staying across the river in Newark. The NJ Transit train is about 25 minutes, and subway and walking take another 30 minutes (at least today) to get to where we sang. 

Being decades older since I last lived in NYC I look around at all the folk who are walking briskly and dealing with thousands of stairs for the subway. I do not move briskly and since my knee replacement I am more thoughtful about stairs.

Manhattan is exciting though, can't deny that. The sections I have had business in were bustling as much as I remembered.

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