DAY 3: OUT & ABOUT

On Thursday, after an amazing evening at the Kennedy Center, groups of musicians and patrons ventured out into the city to explore Washington, D.C.  Musicians were spotted along the National Mall and at the National Gallery of Art. Did you know that the National Gallery of Art is home to "Ginevra de' Benci" the only painting by Leonardo Da Vinci on public display in the Americas?

DAY 3: A TRUE NATIONAL TREASURE

On Thursday morning, members of the Albany Symphony's Springtime In D.C. tour group enjoyed a private tour of the Library of Congress.  Did you know that the original Library of Congress was destroyed by the British during the War of 1812?  The library was restored in 1815 when the Library purchased President Thomas Jefferson's personal library, which contained over 6,487 books.  

With the help of Congressman Paul Tonko's office, we were able to access the Music Division at the Library of Congress.  The collection holds over 20.5 million items from the last 1000 years of Western music history.

What do Brahms, Aaron Copland, David Del Tredici, and Joan Tower have in common?

We were delighted to see the original manuscript of Brahms' Violin Concerto in D with handwritten edits by Brahms.  The music librarians also researched our season and pulled the original manuscript of Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin and Aaron Copland's personal copy of The Lobster Quadrille from An Alice Symphony by David Del Tredici.   Del Tredici and Copland were great friends.  Del Tredici would frequently send copies of his latest work to Copland for suggestions.  On this score, you can see Copland's suggested revisions. Also on display was an original score by Albany favorite Joan Tower.

DAY 3: SPRINGTIME IN D.C.

After lunch at Old Ebbitt Grill- Presidents Grant, Cleveland, Harding, and Theodore Roosevelt's  favorite D.C. restaurant- we strolled around D.C. and enjoyed the beautiful spring weather.  Albany Symphony development director, Geoff Miller, took a group of patrons to the Tidal Basin to see the cherry blossoms in full bloom, while executive director, Anna Kuwabara, led a group of patrons to the National Portrait Gallery.  We all caught spring fever when we saw the tulips on the National Mall in front of the U.S. Capitol.  While D.C. is known for its cherry blossoms, nothing compares to the tulips in Albany's Washington Park.

DAY 3: DOGS OF DESIRE AT BLIND WHINO

The Dogs of Desire moved into their temporary home in Southwest D.C. for their final rehearsal before their D.C. debut at Blind Whino, a hip alternative arts space. Sleeping Giant composers, Chris Cerrone and Timo Andres attended the rehearsal, while David Alan Miller and vocalist Theo Bleckmann polished the program.

DAY 3: OFF THE LEASH IN SOUTHWEST D.C.

The Dogs of Desire were off the leash at their Washington, D.C. debut at SHIFT.  The 18-member new music ensemble is the Albany Symphony's resident new music ensemble and the R&D arm of the orchestra.  This was evident on Thursday night as they took the stage at Blind Whino, a re imagined church and alternative arts space in Southwest D.C.    If you have not experienced the Dogs of Desire be sure to purchase your ticket to their performance at the American Music Festival on Friday, June 1, 2018.