City of Brotherly Love
At last Spring’s annual auction for The Washington Chorus, I was the winning bidder on a live auction item which included a hotel stay in Philadelphia, concert tickets to a performance of the Philadelphia Singers, and a tour of the city with the group's musical director, David, who was a guest conductor for TWC last year. Well, I finally cashed in on the prize this weekend.
KB and I headed to Philadelphia on Saturday. Our trip started at 11:30, as we left my house with plans to stop for lunch along the way, arrive at the hotel around 3:00, check in, then go meet David at a rehearsal he was running for an upcoming performance of Mahler 8. We opted for lunch at Friendly’s, which offered tasty food, but horrific service, as is often the case at Friendly’s. If it weren’t for their Reese’s Pieces sundaes, I wouldn’t set foot in any of their restaurants again.
We got back on the road and arrived in Philly to find a Phillies game about to start, and us in the middle of stadium traffic. Once through it, we made it downtown to get stuck in even worse traffic. We spent close to an hour trying to cross just a handful of blocks to our hotel, avoiding Obama and Hillary demonstrators in the streets, as well as the buses that brought them to the city throughout the week. I left a voicemail for David, saying we weren’t going to make it to his rehearsal, and asking him to call when he was free, so we could make alternate plans. He called a few minutes later and we arranged to meet him in our hotel lobby at 5:00.
KB and I checked in, went to our room to drop our bags and clean up a bit, then back down to the lobby to meet David. He greeted us warmly and off we went on a walking tour of the city.
We walked many blocks, past beautiful historical and architectural sights, enjoying David’s educated and witty commentary about the city. Without a doubt, he offered more fascinating insight than you could expect from the best guidebook or any professional tour guide.
We decided to break at a quaint Belgian pub, where we sidled up to the bar and each chose a beer from their extensive selection; 325 options, to be exact. We talked for a few hours about all things musical: David’s involvement with Curtis, Mannes and the Philadelphia Singers, The Washington Chorus’ extensive search for a new conductor, what KB and I can do as singers to get work as professional soloists, etc.
Now, my closest friends are well aware of my...um..."fondness" for conductors. It all started with John DiCostanzo, my conductor for The Mikado at ONU. It continued with Harry Davidson, the conductor I studied with at the University of Akron. But my fondness hit its peak with David. How could it not? He’s a brilliant conductor with a great sense of humor, and his endearingly crooked smile certainly doesn’t hurt matters. I’d be lying if I said this fondness didn’t motivate me in a small way to bid on this very item at the auction last year.
So there I was, sitting next to David, enjoying a fantastic Belgian beer, laughing, talking like old friends, his hand occasionally resting on my arm to emphasize a particularly vital bit of a story. Then, it happened.
As David talked about his insane rehearsal schedule, bouncing back and forth from Philly to New York every week, KB said, “I don’t suppose you have any pets with that schedule.” David replied, “Well, my partner has a cat and a bird....”
Wait. Did he just say partner? As in life partner? As in... he's gay? At that point, I realized David’s lips were still moving, but I couldn’t hear what he was saying, and everything around us went kind of fuzzy. Okay, so of course I had my suspicions. I mean, how many unmarried, good looking, successful musicians in their 40s are straight? I knew from experience that the odds weren’t in my favor, but I decided to be optimistic for a change. It’s not that I expected to live happily ever after with him by ANY means, but it was fun to live the fantasy, if only for a weekend. Somehow, I managed not to fall off my barstool and pull myself back into the conversation, but the word "partner" was still echoing in my head.
We finished our beers and headed back out for a bit more sightseeing before returning to the hotel. We said our goodbyes for the night and KB and I thanked David for the fantastic tour, then headed up to the room to freshen up before going to a late dinner at Caribou Café (a recommendation from David). As you might suspect, KB and I had a lot to discuss; we talked and laughed about the day’s events over dinner and into the night.
On Sunday, KB and I went out for coffee, then enjoyed a leisurely stroll and lunch at Reading Terminal Market. We returned to the hotel, dressed for the concert, checked out, then walked to the Kimmel Center to meet David. He gave us our tickets, we chatted briefly, then KB and I thanked him for his hospitality before saying goodbye.
The concert opened with Bernstein’s Symphony No. 3 (“Kaddish”). It included narration by a holocaust survivor that was painfully stirring. Thank God for the tissues in my purse. The second half of the concert was a Korngold symphony, but we opted to leave at intermission. We both wanted to hear The Philadelphia Singers, who performed only during Kaddish, so we were ready to get on the road and head home. Which we did, arriving at my place around 6:30.
A very enjoyable, very memorable weekend.
KB and I headed to Philadelphia on Saturday. Our trip started at 11:30, as we left my house with plans to stop for lunch along the way, arrive at the hotel around 3:00, check in, then go meet David at a rehearsal he was running for an upcoming performance of Mahler 8. We opted for lunch at Friendly’s, which offered tasty food, but horrific service, as is often the case at Friendly’s. If it weren’t for their Reese’s Pieces sundaes, I wouldn’t set foot in any of their restaurants again.
We got back on the road and arrived in Philly to find a Phillies game about to start, and us in the middle of stadium traffic. Once through it, we made it downtown to get stuck in even worse traffic. We spent close to an hour trying to cross just a handful of blocks to our hotel, avoiding Obama and Hillary demonstrators in the streets, as well as the buses that brought them to the city throughout the week. I left a voicemail for David, saying we weren’t going to make it to his rehearsal, and asking him to call when he was free, so we could make alternate plans. He called a few minutes later and we arranged to meet him in our hotel lobby at 5:00.
KB and I checked in, went to our room to drop our bags and clean up a bit, then back down to the lobby to meet David. He greeted us warmly and off we went on a walking tour of the city.
We walked many blocks, past beautiful historical and architectural sights, enjoying David’s educated and witty commentary about the city. Without a doubt, he offered more fascinating insight than you could expect from the best guidebook or any professional tour guide.
We decided to break at a quaint Belgian pub, where we sidled up to the bar and each chose a beer from their extensive selection; 325 options, to be exact. We talked for a few hours about all things musical: David’s involvement with Curtis, Mannes and the Philadelphia Singers, The Washington Chorus’ extensive search for a new conductor, what KB and I can do as singers to get work as professional soloists, etc.
Now, my closest friends are well aware of my...um..."fondness" for conductors. It all started with John DiCostanzo, my conductor for The Mikado at ONU. It continued with Harry Davidson, the conductor I studied with at the University of Akron. But my fondness hit its peak with David. How could it not? He’s a brilliant conductor with a great sense of humor, and his endearingly crooked smile certainly doesn’t hurt matters. I’d be lying if I said this fondness didn’t motivate me in a small way to bid on this very item at the auction last year.
So there I was, sitting next to David, enjoying a fantastic Belgian beer, laughing, talking like old friends, his hand occasionally resting on my arm to emphasize a particularly vital bit of a story. Then, it happened.
As David talked about his insane rehearsal schedule, bouncing back and forth from Philly to New York every week, KB said, “I don’t suppose you have any pets with that schedule.” David replied, “Well, my partner has a cat and a bird....”
Wait. Did he just say partner? As in life partner? As in... he's gay? At that point, I realized David’s lips were still moving, but I couldn’t hear what he was saying, and everything around us went kind of fuzzy. Okay, so of course I had my suspicions. I mean, how many unmarried, good looking, successful musicians in their 40s are straight? I knew from experience that the odds weren’t in my favor, but I decided to be optimistic for a change. It’s not that I expected to live happily ever after with him by ANY means, but it was fun to live the fantasy, if only for a weekend. Somehow, I managed not to fall off my barstool and pull myself back into the conversation, but the word "partner" was still echoing in my head.
We finished our beers and headed back out for a bit more sightseeing before returning to the hotel. We said our goodbyes for the night and KB and I thanked David for the fantastic tour, then headed up to the room to freshen up before going to a late dinner at Caribou Café (a recommendation from David). As you might suspect, KB and I had a lot to discuss; we talked and laughed about the day’s events over dinner and into the night.
On Sunday, KB and I went out for coffee, then enjoyed a leisurely stroll and lunch at Reading Terminal Market. We returned to the hotel, dressed for the concert, checked out, then walked to the Kimmel Center to meet David. He gave us our tickets, we chatted briefly, then KB and I thanked him for his hospitality before saying goodbye.
The concert opened with Bernstein’s Symphony No. 3 (“Kaddish”). It included narration by a holocaust survivor that was painfully stirring. Thank God for the tissues in my purse. The second half of the concert was a Korngold symphony, but we opted to leave at intermission. We both wanted to hear The Philadelphia Singers, who performed only during Kaddish, so we were ready to get on the road and head home. Which we did, arriving at my place around 6:30.
A very enjoyable, very memorable weekend.
posted by Amanda at 12:29 PM
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