Posts made in October, 2010

I sang… I ran… I lived…!!

Anthem … then five fabulous miles!

Marathon Kickoff in Central Park

OK, I promise I will not blog every NYRR National Anthem that I’m lucky enough to perform, but today, after singing the Anthem on a spectacular Halloween morning in Central Park … I put on my running shoes and… (drumroll please…)

I RACED!!

Ready to Run...

How ’bout that??!!  5 miles!! It was a blast, and I didn’t stop, or pass out, or even regret getting out there after a three and a half year hiatus.   Afterward, a long hot shower … and a teeny little nap … and I’m ready to get up and do it again!  Who knew?  Now, I’m not going to wax poetic –> way too tired… but I am so pumped!  And though I look like a little teapot in this picture, I finished the race in relatively good time… FYI, I’ll be singing – and running again – at the NYRR 5-miler this Friday, November 5th, 8am — so come to the Central Park if you’re around.  If I can do this, so can you!!

In Other News: The Witches are Coming!

I am so proud to be part of a wonderful new public radio program that begins recording next week.  The Witches of Lublin, a new one-hour drama by Ellen Kushner, Elizabeth Schwartz, and Yale Strom. It stars Tovah Feldshuh (Yentl, Golda’s Balcony) and features Simon Jones (Brideshead Revisited, Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy) Neil Gaiman (Coraline, The Graveyard Book) and Barbara Rosenblat (Anne Frank Remembered, The Secret Garden) with a supporting cast of New York’s finest audio actors (that includes me!!) and fresh music by leading klezmer musicians.  Directed and Produced by Sue Zizza, I am totally psyched to be working with this incredible company on such an innovative project!


Read More

Divas on the Danube…

Three Yiddish Divas Dazzle Vienna

The Whirlwind Tour!

Three Yiddish Divas in Vienna

We arrived on Thursday, rehearsed early Friday, then performed on Saturday night to a sold-out crowd at Vienna’s magnificent Konzerthaus, Berio-Saal.  It was all part of the Juddischer Kulturherbst 2010.

Lovingly subtitled: Humor – Weisheiten (Wisdom) – Musik. “Oj, s’is gut!” indeed, it was very, very good.   The festival presenters wined us and dined us… and the entire experience was sumptuous and grand!

600 Year old buildings and me...

If you’ve never been to Vienna, it is certainly one of Europe’s most beautiful cities.  Walking through the 1st district, every step is a complication of medieval architecture, Imperial opulence and contemporary 21st Century commercialism.  Mind boggling ~ thought-provoking ~ really expensive!  Whoa!  Vienna’s history is also a complex realm, especially in dealing with the causes and aftermath of the occupation.  As artists performing in a Yiddish festival, it was not lost on any of us that this is an ongoing dilemma.

Vienna's Konzerthaus

But Vienna’s revitalized Jewish community is alive, diverse and thriving.  We attended Shabbos services at the Stadtempel on Judenstrasse, the largest congregation in Vienna – a city known for it’s a capella choral mastery.  I didn’t know what to expect, but as we walked through the doors, the 19th Century hall echoed with the voices of an eight-man choir chanting the service with moving emotion.   My great grandparents were born into this Austrian musical tradition, and I can’t help but think my own family’s love of a capella Barbershop singing was inspired by this legacy.  It’s a thought, right?

Auf vider zehen, Wien… until we meet again!

Read More

…the Bronx & Staten Island, too…

Another Sunday ~ Another Anthem!

The Staten Island Half Marathon!

The Lady in the Harbor from the SI Ferry

And what a GORGEOUS day for it!!

Indian Summer in New York is heavenly, which made waking up at 5AM to get to the Staten Island Ferry and the starting line by 8:30am well worth the effort.  So many runners crowding onto the Ferry, I thought the commuters would go a little insane… but the image of Lady Liberty and the great NYC skyline floating by is enough to calm even the antsiest of passengers.  I never understood the power of our national anthem until I started singing it before crowds of anxious athletes;  those words “by the dawn’s early light” as the sun rises over New York Harbor?  I get goose bumps just thinking of it!

Read More