Working Life

Making music in a bank

By Masako Yamada

"From the Top" is a classical music radio show that is based in Jordan Hall at the New England Conservatory (NEC) in Boston. I took piano lessons for several years at NEC where I occasionally noticed the show being taped in the auditorium. However, it never occurred to me to listen to a live performance. I'd never heard the show on the radio. I didn't know what I was missing.

When I lived in Boston, I rarely listened to the radio. Now that I have a car and spend a lot of time in my car, I listen to the radio quite a bit. My favorite station is a public classical music station that broadcasts popular classical music programs including "From the Top" by Public Radio International. The program, which features talented teenage musicians, is one of my favorite shows.

"From the Top" の公開録音が行なわれた Troy Savings Bank Music Hall(http://www.troymusichall.org)。このホールは通常の業務を行なう銀行の上階にある

It is through the radio that I heard that "From the Top" would be taped at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall near Albany. The cast often travels and the show is taped in halls across the country. Local young musicians are given opportunity to perform both in front of a live audience and a nationwide radio audience.

The kids are also interviewed by the host, which lends a personal touch. The combination of good music and lighthearted conversation is very appealing. While I was listening to a recent broadcast of the show, I realized that I knew one of the young musicians being interviewed. It made the show that much more interesting to me.

When I heard that the show was coming to the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, I immediately knew I wanted to go. Not only did I want to listen to the kids, I also wanted to see the composer Peter Schickele appearing as a guest. Another major draw of the event was the music hall itself. Although it's a small concert hall located in a sleepy town in upstate New York, it's well-known for its superb acoustics.

One thing that surprised me when I first arrived at the hall is that the ground floor of the building is still a regular bank. Nothing suggests that it's a world-famous hall. Concert halls often have a grand lobby, perhaps with red carpet, oil paintings and winding staircases. This building had a small, cold hallway with an unspectacular elevator and boring white steps. But after climbing up a few flights of stairs, the concert hall revealed itself. The interior was simpler than other concert halls I'ｖe been to (including a few in the Albany area) but the true luxury was that almost every part of the hall was over 100 years old.

The hall was built above a bank in 1875, and most of the details of the interior have remained intact. Even the chairs are the original wooden chairs with hat racks built under them. The hall rents cushions to those who find the wood uncomfortable. I'ｖe heard the primary reason the chairs have not been changed is because people still haven't figured out why the hall sounds so great, and they don't want to tamper with perfection.

In a sense, it was unfortunate that the performances were being taped for the radio, since the sound was amplified with microphones, and I couldn't enjoy the natural sound of the hall. However, the fact that it was being taped added other levels of excitement. One thing that I'ｖe always liked about "From the Top" is that the interviews are informal. It highlights the fact that the performers are human. Watching the show as an audience member, I realized that the performers are also children. They all did admirably well (I probably would've flubbed from the first note) but I noticed the tension in their young faces, and I realized they were not at the level where they could truly communicate to adults.

I don't know if it's because I felt sympathy for the kids or if it's because I felt nervous being part of a studio audience, but I'ｖe never felt as jittery as a listener. I clutched onto my program, lest I drop it and create a rustling sound. Now that I'ｖe been a part of the live audience, I'm looking forward to hearing the show when the recording is broadcast on the radio in the end of January.

Shukan ST: Dec. 5, 2003

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