My Week in New York—Day Six—After the Concert

From left to right: Some post-concert fun with pianist Yanni Tan; Soprano Yohji Daquio and Yanni Tan; my mother and me just after the concert; jazz singer Jessa Salerno.

Following every concert there is always a sense of relief, particularly if things have gone very well. At the same time, what I always tell fellow musicians is that the concert may be finished, but the evening is not. There is still the great responsibility of greeting and thanking guests for having attended. This was especially true following the concert at the Columbus Citizens Foundation, as there was a dinner in the restaurant on the floor below the concert space.

I always like to change into another gown after a concert because I think it is important to thank as many people as possible for coming, but because on this evening they were sitting down, one needs to be able to move comfortably between the tables.  I therefore chose a black satin gown with a narrower silhouette that allowed me to move about the room more freely.

When I came down the stairs into the dining room most of the people were already seated, and it was very nice to have them applaud again when they saw me enter.  This is one of the best feelings in the world because the applause are spontaneous, and one has the feeling that the audience truly appreciated the performance.

Before I could go into the dining room after changing however, I found myself having a discussion with two musicians who were in attendance. Yohji Daquio is a soprano from the Philippines who has begun a career in New York. I listened to a performance she gave of the Queen of the Night aria on YouTube and she is quite amazing. 

I also had an opportunity to have a bit of fun with a fellow pianist, Yannie Tan.  Not only is she a fine musician, but she also has a degree in Computer Science from Standford University and is a filmmaker with her own YouTube channel that has over 300,000 subscribers! It was both a pleasure and honor to spend time with her. Together we played a small section of the last movement of Beethoven Moonlight Sonata.  What fun!

Dinner that evening was wonderful. I was at a table with my mother, Mr. Cosmo, and some of the guests. Evenings like these, where one has worked hard, and is enjoying time with people who truly appreciate all of the effort that goes into presenting a concert, make everything worthwhile.

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