When I heard about this project I was
really excited because what the piece
that we're going to contribute is the
"Largo" from a selection, a collection
called "Song of Survival," which was
created by some women who were interned
in a prison camp during the second World War
in the East Indies and to survive they
created arrangements from memory of some of
the great orchestral pieces that they knew.
And the women in the camp
sung and performed the pieces together.
I'm Barbara Yahr. I'm the music director and conductor
of the Greenwich Village Orchestra.
Our members, a selection of our members are
behind me here.
And we perform at Washington Irving
Auditorium. In Dvořák's old neighborhood.
I'm Jose Ortiz
aka Dr. Drum
The organization I'm with is BombaYo.
It's a new experience for us,
but at the same time it's also a
connection to the history of the music
that we're already doing; It's called Bomba.
My intention was to
inspire our music and see what happens.
Hoping that we could create some symphony with the Bomba.
You know the musical saw
is somewhat limited in comparison to let's
say a violin or a flute.
But the "Goin' Home" section I actually know works
perfect for the saw because I played it
in the past with the Little Orchestra Society
here at David Geffen Hall. So I was
really excited to hear that this is what they want me
to do because i know it fits the musical
saw like a glove.
This is one of the first pieces of
orchestral music that I got to perform as a
young player. So it has a lot of significance
to me. It brings back a lot of
really warm memories.
The reason why I believe this piece is
so special is that the melodies are
simple but heartfelt and strong.