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Music in the Gym A Benefit for All of Us
To the Editor:
There was music in the gymnasium at Haldane last Friday! Soulful, joyous, kinetic, connected, loud and laugh-out-loud music! If you were there you know of what I’m talking about. It was called The Hudson Highlands Holiday Benefit, a benefit concert for the Garrison and Haldane school systems. But it wasn’t just a benefit the arts in our schools. It was a benefit for all of us friends and neighbors (or as Dar Williams said, “neighbors who are neighbors back.”)
The last time I heard music in that gym was at the Tsunami Benefit in which Gandalf Murphy and the Slambovian Circus of Dreams had their coming out party in our community and there was magic that night. But it seems that memory will compete with Friday night’s memory. Three hundred and fifty neighbors, friends and fans were privy to the power of collective and heartfelt collaboration. A mutual respect you could feel between these consummate artists. All of them members of our little community.
One of America’s hallmark folk singer/songwriters, Dar Williams, along with one of the most infectious and original bands in the country, Gandalf Murphy and the Slambovian Circus of Dreams and our very own Motherlode Trio, had us yodeling, singing and stomping our feet. By the end of the evening, way past my bedtime, we were standing in appreciation for this magical night by these musicians. I know when a concert is memorable. Folks around me are smiling silly grins. You can’t help yourself.
This show was inspired and produced by Patti Pelican but was quickly and eagerly supported by Seamus Carroll and The Haldane Foundation, along with Robert Culp of the Garrison Children’s Education Fund. They benefited all of us with what was produced in that gym. And applause too, for the dozens of folks who donated everything from sound to lights to scenic design to tickets, parking, school logistics, food, etc. It was an idea that took hold and raised much money for the performing and visual arts in our schools.
This concert came on the heels of winter concerts by the Haldane Middle School and Elementary School students on Wednesday and Thursday nights. Little did those kids or their neighbors in Garrison realize that their parents were gathering in that very gym for maybe a guitar lesson or a writing workshop or even an acting or painting class.
I’m so awed by all who helped make this possible - mostly to our musical neighbors and parents: Dar, Joziah, Tink, Tony, Sharkey, Terry, Stacy and, of course Patti Pelican. One more thought. I have no idea if this benefit was or could be a spark in making this an annual event. Too early for that. Or is it? Judging by the chemistry and creativity along with the silly grins, maybe it isn’t too early. As Dar, my neighbor, sings on her latest album; “Every time you love just a little, take one step closer, Solving the riddle…it echoes all over the world.” For me it will echo for a long, long time.
Michael Heintzman
Cold Spring
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