So...
I take my seat in the first tier, and as I'm waiting for the rehearsal to start - and there was still a good 45 minutes before the downbeat - I decided to strike up a conversation with the young(er) man sitting next to me. He mentions that, in addition to being an airline pilot - at the still relatively young age of 28! - he plays violin and that he will soon be heading back up to his alma mater, Holy Cross, in a couple of weeks to play a concert with the orchestra there. I ask if he knows "Eric", and, lo and behold, he does.
Eric is a friend of mine who was at Catholic University at the same time I was there as part of the school's accompanying staff. He was getting his Doctorate in Conducting, and he landed the job up at Holy Cross right after finishing his DMA. So, it turned out that Brendan started at Holy Cross the same year that Eric started there as a professor. And Eric will be conducting the orchestra in a few weeks, and Brendan will be one of the soloists. Small world!
After the rehearsal, we grabbed lunch up at Ollie's, and then, since he's relatively new in town, I took him up to Levain for dessert. Then we walked up to Zabar's - he had never been - then we walked back to Central Park South to grab an espresso at Cafe Zibetto.
Then I headed over to MoMA, and he headed home to practice.
On the way to MoMA, a couple from Guatemala was asking people on the sidewalk how to get to the Museum, well... I told them just to follow me since I was heading over there, and, that since I'm a member, I could get them in for $5 instead of $20. And I did.
Then after another pass through Monet's "Water Lilies", and the Ron Arad gallery, I headed back home.
-Yes, a very good day.
