New York City Adventure|| Carnegie Hall -- In the Words of Andrew

We just got back from Carnegie Hall. For those of you who don't know anything about the hall, it was founded and sponsored by Andrew Carnegie, the famous millionaire and philanthropist. It was built in Manhattan, New York, opening its doors in 1891. It has since become the most famous concert hall in America, regularly hosting the most prestigious international Classical musicians.  Anyway, I'm a rather devoted Classical fan, and of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in particular. As some may gather from their name, the orchestra in based in Berlin, Germany, and has a glittering history of success, being widely recognized as the world's greatest orchestra. I heard them at Carnegie Hall back in the winter of 2012, when I got a pair of tickets as a gift. It was such a spell-binding experience that I determined I'd go see them again.  They didn't come back to New York until this October, when they opened the season with a series of concerts. I wanted to go badly, but wanted to find some friends who'd be game to go with me. The candidates would have to be willing to spend a little bit, willing to sit through a two hour concert, and put up with atrocious me. Enter Jordan and Josiah Slabaugh, who were all into it.  So I went ahead and bought the tickets, and we started making plans.

"The tickets"

We wanted to have the full experience, so we decided we would drive to Trenton and take the train the rest of the way, and we were going to be sure to eat out.
This was all planned a good while in advance, so the date slowly crept up on us. Josiah acted like it was going to be hard to get off of work, and we all took him about as seriously as usual. We started getting a bit fired up, as some individuals at the youth event the week before will attest.  Finally, October 2, 2014 came around. We guys all put in a half day of work in the morning, and then met at Slabaugh's for the drive to Trenton.

Those of you familiar with us guys can about imagine just how it went. We had a riot on the way, missing exits and everything. Finally we got to the station and parked. After having joked a lot about forgetting the tickets for the concert, we were walking away from Josiah's locked car, and I put my hands in my pockets and realized the tickets were still in the car. Yeah, really. Once in the train station, we had about an hour to wait for the train, so we headed down to the tracks and watched the trains. Jordan had bought the train tickets online, and we all started freaking out that ticket he had printed out wasn't the right one and they were going to kick us off once we were on the train. {editors note: The two that hadn't purchased the tickets were freaking out}. We were getting nervous, so we wanted to make sure we had the right ticket. We needed someone brave to go ask, so Josiah took the challenge.  He came back confirming we had the right ticket, but also with a bag of jelly beans. It was just the sugar we needed. I think we all consumed something around a pound. Once our train came, we got on board and Josiah and I sat facing Jordan, who sat next to a mute young gentleman who probably wished he could have had the seats to himself. He glared at me every so often.

"Texting EVERYONE, quick before the battery dies"

Unfortunately, he got off awhile before we did, and Josiah and I started acting like we were really out of it. The photographer started taking pictures, some of which are rather incriminating.

{Editors Note: Enjoy the Show :}

We finally got into New York City, Penn Station. It's on the big side for a train station and feels more like an airport. We wandered around, trying to find our way out. Eventually we figured it out, and we walked up a long flight of stairs, taking us out smack bang into the streets.

And there we were, seemingly out of nowhere. It's quite the shock, even for me, having been there three times before. The streets are loud, noisy, and crowded, with honking and piles of people on the sidewalks.

"A street musician"

"A modern, New York style Rickshaw"

"Dodging traffic"

You have to learn the art of diving in, out, and around folks who are doing the same thing. It even smells disturbing at times. Jordan said something about it reminding him of Bangladesh. Times Square is the flashiest place imaginable, literally, and Josiah said he was feeling carsick. It's hard to blame him, with enough people, flashing screens, and lights to send you into a frenzy.  The excitement is feverish, and everyone operates under extreme pressure. We started out 25 blocks from Carnegie Hall, and we were headed in that direction, but we were still looking for a place to eat. We were feeling Italian, and I was trying to find a place I had gone to several years before. We couldn't find it, and we were getting a little nervous, because the clock was ticking and we couldn't be late for the concert. We even stopped and asked some policemen if they knew of a good Italian restaurant. But when it was all said and done, I kid you not, we ended up at good old Olive Garden.

"Drew, documenting the price of our food"

The food is the same as it is back home, just that the waiter has a strong accent, we have a view out into the crazy streets, and the bill is a tad bit steeper. So of course we went all out, with appetizers, snazzy entrées, and dessert.

"Yum yum... chow down"... if you have trouble with not being hungry at supper...try walking 30 or 40 blocks before you eat!

I ate almost all my dessert, but Jordan only got half of his down, and just left the rest there. Nice way to spend ten bucks, I suppose. I think we were all glad we did it, though.

"The delicious, Pumpkin Cheese cake"  And yes, it was totally worth it!

"Carnegie Hall at night"

By this time we're getting an itch to be in the hall. We headed back out into the streets, and furiously made our way. Once we got there, we ended up standing in a crowded hallway waiting until 7:35 when they opened the auditorium. I think I asked Josiah for the time every five seconds. Finally, they opened the doors and we found our seats.

"The dizzying view from our seats"

We were in the fifth tier, way up there. It was a great view, though, if a bit dizzying at first.  The concert was worth every cent. Of course I'm crazy about the orchestra, but it surpassed all expectations. Well, the second half did, anyway. The first half was fine, but Simon Rattle wasn't at the top of his game, even if the orchestra played superbly. And I was rather upset with the audience, who clapped at the end of every movement, when any classical concert-goer knows you only do that at the end of the whole piece. Worse yet, Rachmaninov's Symphonic Dances ends with crashing chords and a big wham on the gong (a percussion instrument). The idea is that the sound slowly fades away. But the audience started applauding before it even had time to resonate, so I was a bit annoyed.

"Waiting in eager anticipation"

 {Editor's note: The following pictures are from before the concert, and during the intermission, pictures in concert was not allowed}

"The bass section"

"I love watching the timpani, totally awesome!" 

"Harps and piano... wish I could plan them!"

"Here they come..."

  Anyway, the second half of the program, Stravinsky's Firebird, was so awesome it made up for any disappointment in the first half. Rattle was mesmerizing, and he voiced the orchestra perfectly, but his passion was unmistakable. I'm not really sure how to describe the music for someone not acclimated to classical music.

The dynamic range was massive, from quiet, shimmering strings to the almost terrifying sound of the orchestra in full cry, with blaring brass and crashing percussion. It was all there, and the drama was immense. I think we all agreed that the piece couldn't have had a better conclusion. It was blazingly triumphant, and the audience burst into rapturous applause. Rattle made his rounds, bowing, acknowledging the orchestra, going offstage, coming back on, and doing it all over again. He treated us to an encore, which was a delicious way to end the evening.

"This picture is one of the "illegal" pictures that I took while we were clapping after the 2nd half...Drew was very worried that someone would see me taking pictures, and kick me out of the hall, but since a lot of other had their phones and cameras out, I wouldn't be the only one"

The "Triplets" of Carnegie Hall... ask me if you want to here the story behind that!

I felt knocked out, having enjoyed the concert like crazy, but our train was leaving at 11:15 and we had less than an hour to get there, 25 blocks away and all. New York never sleeps, so the streets were only slightly less crowded. Jordan wanted to take some shots, and he got some pretty cool ones. 

"The afore mentioned pictures..."

By the time we got to the station, I think we had mastered the art of maneuvering around people and crossing streets.  

Once on the train, we started calming down and Jordan took a snooze. Josiah and I stayed awake most of the time, but we were feeling pretty tired. Back in Trenton, we got in the car, Jordan drove, and it was Josiah's turn for a time out. 

Jordan made a coffee stop on the way and we end up back at Slabaugh's at 2:00 AM. We headed to bed without much ado.  Supposedly Josiah got up at 4:30 that morning before going to a work. A reputable source claims he wasn't that bad at work, surprisingly. I slept in until 7:30 and hung around in my pajamas until after 8:30, when Jordan got up. I was scared of the cleaning lady down the hall, and I think Jordan was too. 

"Just one the shots I thought was cool"

Anyway, it was quite the trip, and I think we all want to do it again. It was an awesome relationship-building time, and I think it was just what we needed. I'm speaking for myself, but I think we all felt a lot closer when it was all over, even if we've known each other crazy well for a couple years now. My thanks to Jordan and Josiah for coming with me and making such a special day! And thanks to my Heavenly Father for his safety and direction on our trip!

The Account of the trip was written by Drew Barnard...

{I can whole heartedly agree with you Drew, it was an awesome trip!  Thanks for what you did to make it happen.}   And hope you all enjoyed this little "preview" into our travels... Thanks for reading!  ~ Jordan