Busy, Busy, Busy!
/I can’t believe I haven’t written a blog update since February! I have been so busy lately that I literally wrote on my calendar “DON’T SCHEDULE ANYTHING” for today so I can take care of some loose ends and write to all you lovely people with what I’ve been up to. In addition to playing at Six, numerous cabarets, and with Brass Queens, I’ve had some pretty cool gigs come up lately.
practice, practice, practice!
I started off last Saturday performing with the National Children’s Chorus at Carnegie Hall. It’s been a few years since I’ve played Carnegie and I was delighted to see my name on a dressing room! I’ve only performed there with orchestras in the past and in those instances, the whole orchestra is in one big room backstage! I joined the group for a few different pieces on glockenspiel, djembe, and congas. The kids were fantastic —all 240 of them!
Following the performance at Carnegie, Cinco 12 played a benefit for a pre-school in Brooklyn. This same benefit in 2020 was my last gig before the pandemic hit! I was ecstatic to show up and see that we were performing al fresco as it was a beautiful night. Here is a clip of me soloing with the legendary Samuel Torres on congas:
a view from the drums at the cunard building for Nova Ball
Last week, I got to play Ars Nova’s gala for the second year in a row. The room was gorgeous and I got to play with two incredible performers: Bridget Everett and Shaina Taub. Here’s a pic of Bridget slaying with me in the background:
This weekend, I played in Easton, PA (home of Crayola!) with a super tight band, backing up Dee Roscioli and Ben Clark. We played a selection of covers under the stars on a lovely night. I hope we get to do it again soon! Special thanks to John SanFilippo of California Drum Shop for lending me a kit for the night.
I think that’s it for now! I’m looking forward to a summer of more gigs, fun, and seeing live music!