Finale: Act I

            It is amazing to think about all the things that we did. It is truly astounding. For about $300,  I got to see nine performances in seven days. Not only were these performances diverse in content, but their quality was just superb. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that many performances that were that good, in one week, and, on top of that, I don’t know if I ever will again. I mean, c’mon! When are you ever going to see Sigourney Weaver and David Hyde Pierce in a play one night, and then Matthew Broderick and Kelli O’Hara the next night? Never. I definitely won’t be seeing as much as I did for $300 dollars ever again. On top of these performances I got to see professionals at work, doing what they love. I got to learn an exorbitant amount of information from performers, clinicians, agents, and so much more. I was truly immersed in the place that I want to be.

            There are many things that surprised me however. The first thing that comes to my mind is the fact that I want to go to graduate school now. I might want to go somewhere else, other than New York, but I definitely want to go to Grad school on the East coast. After talking with many of the people there, it seems like a good idea. I like studying music in an environment where everyone enjoys studying music, and as of right now I’d like to do that for more than just four years. I’d like to hone my craft so that it is the best that it possibly can be. I know that we are always learning in life, and that every day is a new adventure or whatever you’d like to say, but I think that Grad school would be an enriching environment to be in. It would be even more enriching in such a culturally diverse environment like New York. The next thing that surprised me is that I’ve found that New York may not be the place I want to be right away. Before the trip I had thought that New York was the place for me after my undergrad. But after talking with many of the people there I have begun to question whether I would want to be a starving artist there right away. I say because becoming a Broadway musician is a hard thing to do. The best of the best do it, and I’m not going to be anywhere close to the best of the best when I get out of undergraduate school. That is why I plan on going to grad school. Also, from the conductors, performers, and musicians that I talked to I found out that sometimes it’s almost easier to start in a smaller city doing shows and gaining rep or experience before moving to New York City. Like I said, I’d like to hone my craft. Another thing that surprised me, unfortunately, is the amount of time it takes to get around the city. It takes so much longer than you’d think. Take your estimated travel time and add thirty minutes to it. That is the time that you need to arrive at your destination to be on time. There were many times where I was very stressed because I knew I was going to be late because I had not compensated for travel delays because of construction, accidents, the amount of people, etc. Fact: WALKING IS OFTEN TIMES FASTER. It’s hard to motivate yourself to walk though when your feet are hurting. But it is well worth it. Also, don’t ever expect to take the 1 train downtown from 168^th Street to 42^nd Street in 30 minutes. You will never, ever, ever arrive to your show on time. Take it from me. If you must know, if I wanted to get to my play on time I would have needed to take...yep, the A train. Finally, it surprised me that I learned the subway system so quickly. It is not so complicated; you just need to know where you are going. I thought that I was going to be lost most of the time in the city, but I wasn’t! (Mostly thanks to Mitra, Andy, and Sam, Thanks guys!)

            Besides learning the subway quickly, I felt that I fit in to the hustle and bustle attitude of the city pretty well. I did not look up all the time and I certainly acted as if I knew what I was doing, even when I didn’t. I crossed the streets even when cars were coming; I love that you can do that. I even haggled for my shirts in China town like a pro! What I thought I did even better though, is keep my cool and not get upset about anything. I was in New York! I wasn’t going to let anyone stop me from having the time of my life. Actually all of the guys were exceptionally good at that. Let me tell you, Sam, Andy, and Seth are some of the coolest guys I know and I am so glad I got to room with all of them. When things got heated in the group I stayed calm, when people felt bad or uncomfortable about things I tried to help them. I did this because I feel we were a family. If I had been feeling uncomfortable in a strange town I would definitely want someone around me. I feel as though I did a swell job of having a swell time.

                So what would I do differently next time? Gosh, there are so many things. I definitely tried to take advantage of as many things as I possibly could, but I think I could do even more. There were three more people that I wanted to interview that I didn’t get to because I didn’t think I had enough time. But in reality I did. I’ve been to New York in my life many times before, so why would I go and see things I’d seen before instead of learn information that could help me for the rest of my life? That’s what my hindsight is telling me right now. But now I know I could take even more out of this trip than I already did. Another huge thing that I think I could have done better for myself is to go see more jazz related events or talk to jazz musicians. I love the classical world, but there is a different mindset, different customs, and let’s face it a whole different culture than that of the classical musician. There just is. I wish I could have had a one on one conversation with a jazz pianist to really find out what their life is like in New York City. It is an avenue that I didn’t explore which I wish I would have. I am so grateful though that we got to see The New York Voices. One last thing, I think I could have tried harder to meet up with Stephen Sondheim. I know it is a lofty dream, but after going to New York, I know that some dreams are closer than you’d think. I probably should have written him again. If I were to go on a class trip like this again I would be a total creep and try and contact him personally. All I want to do is shake his hand!

                 I know it may sound odd, but I think the coolest aspect of diversity on this trip was within the group itself. I loved seeing ten students coming from a similar region, with similar customs, and similar accents, and throwing them (myself included) into one of the most diverse places on earth and seeing how they reacted to it. I realized that we are all so different. We all have hugely different beliefs and opinions that it was almost as if we were our own little town. So my understanding was expanded because now I understand that you don’t have to go to a huge town (however wonderful and magical it may be) to get a completely different diverse group of people in their thoughts and beliefs. Social diversity on the other hand, is a completely different story. I think that it is amazing that there are so many different cultures in the city that coexist together as if it were some kind of multi-cultural organism. Every time I go to New York I am astounded by the number of different ethnic groups living in the area. It’s amazing that so many people live in one place together, but to have that many differences between people in terms of religion, race, food, clothing etc. and have them deal with each other every day is pretty cool. Maybe their forced to, but people can truly coexist with each other.

            I had a multilayer question coming into this trip. I went to New York to find out if I have what it takes to become a Broadway conductor and then find out what I would need to do with my time at UWEC to ensure that I have the skills to become a Broadway conductor. I can say now that I think that I do have what it takes to do my dream job, but it will take a lot of hard work, persistence and dedication until I actually get to land a job on Broadway. To find out about the first part of the question I had an interview with David Holcenberg, the conductor for the Broadway musical Matilda. We talked for about 45 minutes about his life and what he did to get there. I found out that the job takes practice, knowledge, and experience. You can read more about this in the Blog I wrote entitled I Know Things Now.

          

             While I was in New York I did add some new questions. After seeing every performance I would say to myself “Gosh, I want to ----------“, fill in the blank with, act, sing, play jazz, conduct,  dance (yeah right) etc. I really felt inspired to learn about the performing arts as a whole which got me thinking. What if conducting Broadway musicals isn’t for me? What if I start to conduct Broadway musicals and I absolutely hate the atmosphere, or the people, or the music, or just the job in general? After all, I’ve only ever played eight shows of a single show in a row. I’ve never done 100 shows or even 2,000 shows. What if I hate it? I need a back-up plan, which led me to my next question. Should I go to Grad school? I figured out yes, I would like to attend Grad school because it will help me develop my well-roundedness by giving me opportunities to enhance my technique and play with a variety of musicians. With this education I can learn more about opera and dance and theater as well. If I go to Grad school in a big city I can also get the cultural influence that I want with the education that I want. I’m just trying to keep my options open. I see it as a Win-Win situation.             
              After all was said and done, this was a once in a life time experience. The diversity of the people, of the performances, and the average way of life in New York was one of the most enjoyable things I have gotten to experience in a long time. I know now that what I want to do is not out of my reach. I know that I want to go to grad school to hone my craft. I need to work hard to make sure that I can get the job that I want and that involves transcribing, studying, and a whole ton of practicing. But with a little luck, some persistence, and a smile I think I will be able to do what I want to do someday.

I will hold this trip in my heart for the rest of my life.

Thank you Mitra and Dr. Rieck

Miles Plant