I can't believe how fast it went by!  I had to take several days to recover because that day was so intense! 

In the main auditorium, I played 5 songs (3 violin, 2 piano)....and had a MAJOR plan for it! I wanted to leave a little piece of "me" reverberating through the walls just as those who performed there before me! ......speaking of reverberation and sound, my FM Soloist sounded SO amazing, more on that in a few!

The 1st song was "Danny Boy" by request of the mayor....couldn't turn that one down! It's one of my fav to play on violin to really show emotion.  I followed it up with Ashokan Farewell, another favorite.  Then I unveiled my plan.  I played a song I wrote called "The Long Farewell." It has an Irish waltz feel to it.  It. Sounded. Amazing. 

I really think my violin & the sound in the auditorium covered all of my deficiencies, at least for that day! 

And yes, there should be video! By the middle of Danny Boy, I noticed people started to pull out their camera phones and record! ....no flashes, but video! The director is currently asking for links to the videos to share on their page as well! When I get 'em, I'll share 'em here too! 

Then, part two of my plan unfolded.  I turned to piano and played a song I wrote called, "Beautiful Shadows" on the baby grand piano there! Simply stunning!  After that, my friend came on and we finished with Imagine.  At that point, everything seemed surreal! No crowd, no other noise, not even back pain. It was just me and the piano and I just kept hearing birds chirping in my head! ....and no, I didn't hit my head, thank you very much. I had watched the video for Imagine over and over the week leading up to it which starts with Lennon & Ono on a nature walk!

It wasn't till Mehgan put her hand on my shoulder at the end of the song that I noticed the crowd again! They were standing and clapping! She helped me up and we took our bows! It was so amazing! .......but it wasn't over!

I was immediately approached by the event coordinator with an "emergency."  The musician they had asked to play the Star Spangled Banner didn't show for the ribbon cutting ceremony.  They asked if I could play it.  I explained that I never tried it on violin before, but knew where I could get the music for it (yes, I got it from this site! LOL).  I took 20 minutes to learn & memorize it and played it in front of the media & guests! .....I felt every ounce of pressure on that one! Apparently I did well as I was complimented afterwards!

After that, I was given free reign to play where ever I wanted to in the building for the rest of the event! So, I chose one of the meeting halls near the entrance.  Nothing but marble and hard tiling!! Again, my FM soloist shined!  It felt like I could hear every note expand all the way across the room and then return to me with the same intensity & sweetness! And every time I finished a song, the room had the feeling that I was still playing! Simply amazing! 

Granted, I couldn't move for the next few days, but it was so worth it! 

I tried to do a little research on when John Lennon was there, but there was a fire near the main hallway to the auditorium which destroyed most of the pictures of famous performances.  There were so many back in its day!  I'm researching it further and should find something.  After all, the building was built by the Rockefeller's back during the height of the industrial revolution! The building has so much history!

On a side note, we did have a bit of an "experience" the night before in the auditorium!  We kept hearing voices from the balcony all night and even had the security guard check it out! ......kinda creepy! LOL