Today we’re publishing a post written by violinist Daniel Hope, an introduction he wrote to his concert at 92nd Street Y on October 27 entitled “East Meets West.” The program features a pianist, sitar player and tabla player, seen in the photo at top.
“East Meets West“—An Introduction:
Our planet has literally become a global village, thanks in part to the internet. You can reach almost anyone, anywhere, at any time. So what’s really behind the idea of “East Meets West?”
The concert on October 27 will attempt to demonstrate that long before the invention of digital mass media, there were connections between distant places with reciprocal influences and inspirations.
“East Meets West” will also look at the creation and evolution of an instrument which has fascinated me since I was four years old: the violin. No one actually knows who invented the violin. In Europe, it can be traced back to the ninth century, but its actual origin may well have been Asia. The concept of instruments played by rubbing the strings is linked to the appearance of the bow, which was imported from Asia by the Arabs or the Nordic tribes—we’re not sure which. Musicians as travelers between two worlds, were, in a sense, the very first global players. But whether the real fruition of the violin occurred in northern Europe, the Near East, India or Central Asia, still remains a mystery.
The Administrative Offices and Y-Charge are closed for the Jewish Holidays of Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah on Oct 20 and 21. Y-Charge will re-open at 9am on Sun, Oct 23. The May Center for Health, Fitness and Sport is open and all May Center classes and programs are being held. The Administrative Office of the School of Arts is also open, and all classes and private lessons in the School of Arts will be held as scheduled.
Leslie Goshko is an award-winning storyteller who’s won our hearts in the latest edition of Culture Klatsch (that’s her in the photo at left with Ira Glass, “the man, the myth, the legend.").
When she’s not busy resting Diet Cokes on her (useful!) copy of Infinite Jest, watching “Dance Moms”, or performing with the improvised storytelling rock band The BTK Band, Leslie serves as host of her monthly storytelling show Sideshow Goshko. Leslie brings her Sideshow to 92YTribeca tomorrow night with A+ storytellers in tow, including former “Blue’s Clues” host Steve Burns, comedian Tom Shillue, and Moth GrandSlam Champion Ed Gavagan.
Where do you go for news when you start your day?
Well, since I’m sure Facebook and my college roommate’s blog don’t count, I’d say the radio. I still listen to an actual radio. It’s in my kitchen. My dad gave it to me. Hi, Dad!
What are your favorite websites?
I have a feeling this answer is just the first in a series of “maybe I shouldn’t reveal that” moments but…I daily check wwtdd.com. And in case you’re wondering what that stands for, it’s “What Would Tyler Durden Do.” Yes, Tyler Durden from “Fight Club.” Apparently I’m a college-aged frat boy who wants you to know that the first rule about Fight Club is...well, I don’t remember. But the second rule is fighting!
Actually it’s a pop culture site.
How much do you use Twitter and Facebook (or other social networking services)?
They are intravenously inserted into my body (shameless twitter plug @ohmygoshko).
What book are you currently reading (or the last one you read)? Print or digital?
Books? What are these “books” you speak of? Oh, you mean coasters! Infinite Jest has saved my table from many a diet coke ring. I’d like to see your Kindle do that!
Our well received Extraordinary Worlds promotion came to a close over the weekend and it’s time to announce the winners!
Drum roll please…
The Grand Prize, an iPad loaded with 92nd Street Y archival programs from Kurt Vonnegut to Mos Def, goes to Melinda Lee of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada. Congratulations to Melinda Lee! View her winning entry here.
The 2nd Place Prize award; two pairs of tickets to a 92Y event with the possibility to meet and get a photo with one of our famous guests, is awarded to two people. Joy Berni from Riverside, NY and Tiffany Flynn from Erie, Colorado are the winners! Joy Berni’s winning entry is here, and Tiffany Flynn’s is here.
And then we awarded three 3rd Place Prizes, 92Y Gift Certificates valued at $50, to three randomly selected entrants. Crystal Eng Won of New York, David Steffen of New York and Nina Levy of New York were all randomly selected. Congratulations to all! We will be contacting you via email with further information!
Happy (Belated) Birthday, Jesse Eisenberg! See Ya at 92Y!
Actor Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network, Zombieland, Adventureland and The Squid and the Whale) recently told us, “The events at 92Y are my favorite thing in the city and my father buys me tickets as a birthday present each year.”
In the spirit of this gift giving, Jesse is offering a discount to friends of 92Y and 92YTribeca for his new play at The Cherry Lane Theatre, Asuncion, the story of two sheltered young men forced to confront their ignorance when a young Filipino woman becomes their new roommate. To access these special discounts, use the appropriate codes below when ordering online or calling OvationTix at 212.352.3101.
92YMEM - $40 92YU30 - Under 30 tickets, $25 with valid ID 92YStu - Student tickets, $20 with valid student ID
Dates Available: Oct 19, 20, 21, 22, 25, 26 at 8 pm; Oct 22 at 2 pm; Oct 23 at 3 pm
Former US Secretary of the Treasury Paul O’Neill, Kenneth G. Langone, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, NYU Langone Medical Center, Robert I. Grossman, The Saul J. Farber Dean and Chief Executive Officer, NYU Langone Medical Center, Donald Berwick, chief administrator of the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services and 60 Minutes’ Lesley Stahl are coming to 92nd Street Y on October 23. Questions they will address include: What are the most pressing issues to be solved? What are the risks? The costs? How can we respect the patient? What needs to be in place and what should the priorities be?
What questions do you have for the panelists? How do you think health care in America can be approved? Let us know on our Facebook page, and we will submit your questions during the Q&A. If your question is used on stage, you’ll receive two free tickets to an upcoming lecture of your choice, pending availability. So get questioning!
Do you have questions about Alzheimer’s disease? Now’s your chance to ask the experts.
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia, and the sixth leading cause of death across all ages in the United States. The Alzheimer’s Association reports that one out of eight Americans over the age of 65 has Alzheimer’s disease, and the total number of dementia-related illnesses are expected to double by 2050, being driven primarily by the aging Baby Boomer population and longer life expectancy rates [PDF].
Dr. Mary Sano, Director of Alzheimer’s Disease Research at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, and Dr. Linda Levine Madori, professor at St. Thomas Aquinas College and creator of the Therapeutic Thematic Arts Programming for the Older Population (TTAP Method™), will visit 92Ynd Street Y on November 1 to discuss new ways to treat or prevent Alzheimer’s, including the TTAP Method™ (Therapeutic Thematic Arts Programming for the Older Population).
If you have questions for either speaker, please submit them in the comments below, and we will forward them for consideration during the Q&A. And don’t forget to share this post with any interested friends on Twitter and Facebook!
92Y Video: The Jewish Connection: Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah with Rabbi David Kalb
Following other videos on the High Holidays, today Rabbi David Kalb, Director of Jewish Education for the Bronfman Center for Jewish Life at 92nd Street Y, discusses Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah.
Immediately following the last day of Sukkot, we celebrate the holiday of Shemini Atzeret, literally, the Eighth Day of Assembly. Simchat Torah, literally, the Joy of Torah, marks the completion and restart of the yearly cycle of Torah reading. The day is one of the most joyous of the entire year. All of the Torah scrolls are removed from the ark and people march around the synagogue singing and dancing with the scrolls. Children also dance around the synagogue carrying flags and miniature Torahs. These processions around the synagogue are known as hakafot.
Rabbi David Kalb and 92Y wishes all of you a wonderful Simchat Torah!
Diana Balmori is a noted landscape scholar, author and design principal of the landscape and urban design firm Balmori Associates, NYC. Her latest book, A Landscape Manifesto, includes discussions of urban ecology, environmental conservation, and environmentally beneficial building techniques. So it probably isn’t much of a surprise to learn some of her favorite websites include Architizer, BLDGBlog and Urban Omnibus.
Those websites are only part of Diana’s media and culture diet. Learn more below, in the 92Y Culture Klatsch Q&A with Diana Balmori, and stop by 92nd Street Y on November 15 when she’s here with MoMA’s Peter Reed.
Film: Le mort du rat, Chicken Real and Ukiah: Is film an art or an industry? This program of shorts looks at the filmmaker’s role as outsider or insider on either end of this spectrum.
Thu, Oct 20
Daytime: Rodgers and Hammerstein at Noon: Join us for a celebratory look at one of Broadway’s and Hollywood’s most prolific partnerships—composer Richard Rodgers and lyricist Oscar Hammerstein.
Comedy: Sideshow Goshko: Award-winning storyteller Leslie Goshko (Sirius XM, WNYC) invites some of New York’s top writers and storytellers to share true, bizarre tales about their lives.
Comedy: An Evening with the Onion: Writers and editors from America’s Finest News Source abandon the newspaper and Onion News Network web videos for the evening to perform a mix of stand-up and storytelling.
Music: Sonic AfterHours: Innovocal. An evening of young singer/songwriters who blur the lines between pop and art song.
Film: Miracle Mile with actor Anthony Edwards and director Steve DeJarnatt in person for post-screening Q&A, moderated by Rumsey Taylor.
Music: Mark de Clive-Lowe’s CHURCH: The world-renowned DJ, producer, composer and musician Mark de Clive-Lowe brings his hugely successful Church series to New York for the first time.
Texas-born, Brooklyn-based composer, singer and songwriter Corey Dargel is “one of the more original and consistently provocative artists pushing at the margins of modern classical music and adventurous pop” according to The New York Times. They’re not the only ones singing (no pun intended) his praises. Corey’s performing a newly expanded version of his song cycle Hold Yourself Together at 92YTribeca on October 20 as part of the SONiC : Sounds of a New Century festival, which highlights new works by composers 40-years-old and younger.
Where do you go for news when you start your day?
I try not to start my day with news, but Slate is my site for news.
How much do you use Twitter and Facebook (or other social networking services)?
I use both Twitter and Facebook, but the amount of time depends on how extensively I need to distort the reflection of my authentic self.
On October 15, 92YTribeca and Nuyorican Poets Cafe will present Nisha Asnani, a masterful songstress who infuses jazz and funk melodies with the vocal prowess of a bygone era.
We sent her the 92Y Culture Klatsch Q&A to learn more about her media and culture diet. But how does she disconnect? “Yoga. I practice a lot of yoga; it’s my sanity. I turn my phone off and for a couple of hours force myself to remember that I exist outside all of my obligations and connections.”
Where do you go for news when you start your day?
I watch a re-run of the “The Daily Show with John Stewart” and “Colbert Report.” Just to keep a sense of humor about it all.
What are your favorite websites?
TED talks! I love them, I will often listen to them at work. Hulu – I’m a junkie for old episodes of “Arrested Development” and “The Office.” I wish I could say I was cool enough to be up on the blog scene, but the truth is, the most of what I know comes from my offsite experiences. I live in the East Village of New York, and if there’s any place in the world that can keep you informed, entertained and curious, this is it.
New York City’s favorite “little big band,” Steven Bernstein’s Millennial Territory Orchestra, cracks open the monumental songbook of Sly & The Family Stone on its new studio album, MTO Plays Sly. You can sample tracks on Amazon.
They’ll perform songs from their new album at 92YTribeca on October 14. Today, Steven Bernstein has answered the 92Y Culture Klatsch Q&A.
Where do you go for news when you start your day?
At the start (with my coffee) I go to my local paper, Rockland Journal News.
What are your favorite websites?
After the Journal News, I go to The Huffington Post, Raw Story, TPM, Politico, Americablog, Andrew Sullivan (I used to go to Perez Hilton, but that got boring once Brittany sobered up).
How much do you use Twitter and Facebook (or other social networking services)?
Facebook addict, no Twitter. My (almost) 17 year old daughter says Facebook is evil. She’s on it too much as well.
Thanks to the hundreds of people who entered our Extraordinary Worlds promotion! Now it’s time to vote for your favorite entry. The submission that receives the most votes wins an iPad. The next two highest vote totals will receive a pair of tickets to a 92nd Street Y event with the possibility to get a photo backstage with 92Y guests. All submissions are entered in a random drawing for three $50 92Y gift certificates. Voting ends October 17, 2011. So vote now!
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Leslie Goshko is an award-winning storyteller who’s won our hearts in the latest edition of Culture Klatsch (that’s her in the photo at left with Ira Glass, “the man, the myth, the legend.").
Our well received 
Former US Secretary of the Treasury Paul O’Neill, Kenneth G. Langone, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, NYU Langone Medical Center, Robert I. Grossman, The Saul J. Farber Dean and Chief Executive Officer, NYU Langone Medical Center, Donald Berwick, chief administrator of the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services and 60 Minutes’ Lesley Stahl 
