Albany Symphony in Washington, DC, 2018

I partially wrote this post last April.  Then my elderly parents' crises took my focus and I didn't finish it.  When I looked back, I decided this trip was too unique to let go.
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"Albany Symphony is going play in Washington, DC," Bill said.
 "Oh? Cool," I said.
A couple of weeks later, out of the blue, he said, "The SHIFT festival looks kind of interesting."
"The what?" I said.
"You know.  Albany Symphony." 
Disconnected snippets often start more promising conversation at our house and, when talk evolved into a concrete plan to join the ASO's trip to DC, I had the dates on the calendar in a second!

(Cherry blossoms at peak)

I looked up SHIFT, figuring it was an acronym.  I was wrong.  Instead the word, all upper case, was being used in its conventional sense as a verb.  We were to shift towards a new way of thinking about orchestras as community outreach, performing beyond the concert hall through innovation, new ideas, new music as well as old, and meeting the public in new ways.

(The University Club)

The Albany Symphony Orchestra, with David Alan Miller as director and conductor, had been chosen to be part of the week-long festival because of its innovative work with living American composers and because of projects such as its barge journey on the Erie Canal when the ASO performed free concerts in seven canal communities. 

(Four orchestras from across the country were part of SHIFT)

Symphony tour planners scheduled the opportunity for fans and supporters to attend three concerts, take advantage of guided sightseeing, and see the cherry blossoms, with two overnights at the University Club.  Thirty-five of us rode a coach bus, ready for the adventure.

After a few minutes to settle in after our arrival, Bill and I, and a few others, boarded the bus again to watch a short, and our first, musical presentation at the Kennedy Center's Millennial Stage. 

(The Kennedy Center's large concert hall)

While some from our group chose to skip the Millennial stage presentation in favor of eating a relaxing hotel or restaurant meal, Bill and I, determined not to miss anything, had dinner in the Kennedy Center cafeteria.  The food was excellent, with a bird's-eye view of the city as well.

The rest of our group joined us at the main hall in the evening with plenty of time to look around.  I was interested to learn that plans to build the Kennedy Center began in 1950, although the first performance did not take place until 1971.  The dramatic high-tech acoustical canopy was added in 1997.  Organ pipes gleamed at the back of the stage, and crystal chandeliers shone overhead.

( David Alan Miller conducts while Carol Jantsch solos in a sparkling mermaid-style gown)

The theme for the ASO concert was "The River Runs Through Us."  Weeks prior to the festival, Bill had been playing recordings of the tuba concerto, Reflections on the Mississippi by Michael Daugherty.  He was particularly attracted to this piece.  The program also included Joan Tower's Still/Rapids, Dorothy Chang's The Mighty Erie Canal, and Michael Torke's Three Manhattan Bridges.

(Lavender globe lights on the Library steps)

Carol Jantsch's performance as tubaist was riveting with tones and beauty we had not imagined.  Although the tuba had a harness, just wielding such an instrument seemed a feat.

I was completely smitten by The Mighty Erie Canal which featured a children's chorus with the orchestra. The music was wonderfully melodic with lyrics both educational and fun. Besides their perfect harmony, the children sang with a serious musicianship.

(The Great Hall in the Library of Congress)

The next day promised to be 70 degrees and sunny, a far cry from April at home.  Cultural outings lay before us, beginning with a drive and short walk to the Library of Congress.  With a private guide, we learned about the library's beautiful architecture and statuary, its collection, and how the library is used today.

( The Reading Room)

I can't resist sharing this list with you:
With an astounding 838 miles of bookshelves, the library contains more than 38 million books and other printed materials, 3.6 million recordings, 14 million photographs, 5.5 million maps, 8.1 million pieces of sheet music and 70 million manuscripts, 5,711 printed previous to the year 1501, and 122,810,430 items in special collections!!

(Brahms Violin Concerto manuscript)

With the help of Congressman Paul Tonko's office, tour planners provided us with a special showing in the library's Music Division.  The music librarians had studied the ASO's concert season and had created a collection of original composition manuscripts coordinating with works the ASO would perform this year, complete with docents behind each glass-covered case to answer our questions.

I was delighted to see the manuscript of Brahms' Violin Concerto in D, with his penciled edits and cross-outs.  Joseph Joachim, who had premiered the piece as violinist, had put his notations in the manuscript with red ink!  How fascinating to see work in progress on such a revered piece of music.  Also on display were Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue and the Joan Tower piece we had heard the night before. In addition, a few Stradivarius and Amati violins hung in a wall cabinet.

(the World in 1507)

Bill and I took advantage of free time to explore Thomas Jefferson's personal collection and to re-visit the famous 1507 Waldseemuller map. Both had been part of our initial guided walk through the library.  The map, which included the latest 16th-century information from Amerigo Vespucci's voyages, had been revolutionary in its time.

(a brilliant garden of tulips in front of the Capitol)

We stepped outside into the spring weather, where flowers bloomed everywhere.  I couldn't stop admiring them, but I was also hungry.  The tour included lunch at Old Ebbitt Grill, Washington's oldest saloon.  Many famous people, including at least five 19th and 20th-century presidents, considered this their favorite DC restaurant.  We had a hearty and delicious three-course meal that would carry us through the rest of the day.

(a canopy of cherry blossoms)

A visit to the National Portrait Gallery, to see the newly hung Barack and Michelle Obama portraits, was next on the schedule.  I joined with others in the hope of a visit to the Tidal Basin to see the cherry blossoms.  After a show of hands, Albany Symphony development director, Geoff Miller, took a group of us to see the cherry trees, while executive director, Anna Kuwabara, led others to the Portrait Gallery.  A few people chose to go back to the hotel.  We were impressed that every request was accommodated.

(The Washington Monument across the Basin)

Bill and I walked along the Basin and up to the Jefferson Memorial, admiring the cherry blossoms, watching the people, and taking pictures.  What a complement this stroll by the petal-strewn water was to the water-themed concert of the previous night!

After just a short time back at the University Club, we were on the bus again for a Dogs of Desire performance, our third and final musical event of the trip.  As Albany Symphony's resident new music ensemble, The Dogs of Desire would perform at the alternative arts space, Blind Whino in Southwest DC. 

(Long-dead church fathers must be rolling over in their graves)

The tour schedule read that the Dogs of Desire has "the power of a rock band, the sophistication of a classical chamber orchestra, exploring all that is wild and wonderful in American pop culture, with dazzling multimedia works and freewheeling, fabulous creations and collaborations."  Although the 18-musician Dogs had been a branch of the ASO for a long time, we had never heard them play.  We went to this concert with open ears and minds.

Dazzling multi-media and freewheeling fabulous creations for sure!  The music was loud and lights flashed in colors through the darkness...and we liked almost every piece on the program.  I especially enjoyed watching the keyboardist who sometimes leaned on the keys with the force of his entire arm and sometimes played gentle melodies.

(Dogs of Desire at Blind Whino)

When we stepped outside of Blind Whino after the show, the evening air felt comfortable.  True to food options always being a step ahead of our thoughts, tour manager Sophie Moss arrived with dozens of cupcakes from the gourmet Georgetown Cupcakes just as I wished for a snack!  We ate them under the trees as we waited for the final drive of the evening.

This time we were not picked up by our bus, but got on a trolley for a ride through the city at night.  While the air felt suddenly chilly, I wouldn't consider pulling the plastic blinds to keep out the wind if they might obscure the views! 

(The Lincoln Memorial)

At the Mall, we got off the trolley and walked along the reflecting pool, past the Lincoln Memorial to the Vietnam Memorial.  Each location had a new majesty in the darkness.  And finally, we ended our fabulous eventful day at the University Club.

(Washington Monument and reflecting pool)

But our adventure wasn't over yet!  We were up and out the next morning for a short tour of the U.S. Capitol.  With Congress in session, we had limited access.  We spent quite a bit of time in the rotunda area and then had the requisite photo on the Capitol steps with Representative Paul Tonko.

(Inside the Capitol Dome)

On the bus ride north to Albany, we watched the landscape change from flowering trees to the browns of a delayed spring in Upstate New York.  I faced a demanding week of rehearsals and concerts for my own musical ensembles.  What better way to be inspired than to have been part of a festival tour such as this?