On July 14th at 6pm I conducted Mahler 4 with some of my favorite musicians. Molly Quinn sang the solo, Owen Dalby was the concertmaster.

The concert will benefit work at the All Souls Music Camp in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans, where I have volunteered my time in recent years.

The concert will take place at Trinity Church on Wall Street and Broadway

I am calling this a dream project. It started with the desire to re-create in some form the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, and so with Owen Dalby I have assembled a ‘dream-team’ of young professionals in New York. But I realized that the concert could benefit the long-standing work that Trinity Church supports in the Lower Ninth Ward, where I worked alongside several of my Trinity Choir colleagues.  In that program, the kids are thirsty for real musical learning, as well as for support and guidance; and this symphony, with its profound view of a child’s view of heaven, ties in perfectly with the kids I met in New Orleans last week. They have lived a lot of life in their few years, and there is nothing diminutive or simplistic about the spiritual and musical life of a young person.

The Sheep Island Ensemble presents Mahler’s 4th Symphony with the New York City Summer Mahler Project on July 14th at 6pm at Trinity Church, Wall Street.

Inspired by the Lucerne Festival Orchestra and Claudio Abbado, conductor James Blachly has assembled an all-star cast of young professionals in New York City to perform this concert on a volunteer basis. Most members of the ensemble are teaching artists, and many are former and current members of the Academy of Carnegie Hall, Juilliard, and the Weill Music Institute (ACJW), as well as seasoned free-lance veterans.

The concert will be presented free of charge (with a $20 suggested donation) with the hope that the audience consist of people who would not otherwise attend a symphony concert, with all proceeds to benefit the All Souls Music Camp in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans, where Trinity Church has an ongoing relationship.

Summertime is quiet, and there is room in our busy schedules for a project outside of the normal parameters of New York freelance work. While many busy freelancers leave town to play in festivals, others who have already passed that stage in their career are in the city and are happy to have the chance to play great music with beloved colleagues.

The early starting time reflects the desires of a summer-time crowd-to come right after work, enjoy an exquisite early evening of music, and retire to a glass of wine in Lower Manhattan as the sun sets.

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