Blier’s Blog: NYFOS@Caramoor / Days 5 & 6

DAYS 5 and 6, March 13 and 14 So much drama. Friday we did a presentation for a bunch of high school choral singers. The kids didn’t seem too interested in Michael or me, but they were really into the singing, absolutely fascinated to hear full-throated, sophisticated...

Blier’s Blog: NYFOS@Caramoor / Day 4

DAY 4, March 12, 2015 The atmosphere was, as I expected, a little different today. No guest coaches, just Michael and me—and our first work-through in concert order. Michael, Chris, and I decided who would be playing which songs on Sunday (with some possibilities of...

Blier’s Blog: NYFOS@Caramoor / Day 3

DAY 3, March 11, 2015 Wednesday is usually when we start to see where the glories and the rough spots of the program are. It is also the last day when we permit ourselves to feel carefree and pleasantly exploratory about it all. “What key did you decide on for that...

Blier’s Blog: NYFOS@Caramoor / Day 2

DAY 2, March 10, 2015 The day started with the usual drive from Manhattan up to Caramoor with Michael. Uncharacteristically he’d kept radio on: WKCR, the Columbia University station, was doing its annual birthday tribute to jazz cornet legend Bix Beiderbecke and he...

Blier’s Blog: NYFOS@Caramoor / Day 1

DAY 1, March 9, 2015 I greet the Caramoor residency with a tangle of emotions drawn from my rich reservoir of neurotic complexity. I am very excited because the unique spell of the Music Room brings forth memories of powerful artistic connections in my life. I have...