"In my end is my beginning." - T.S. Eliot

Things are looking up at the NY Phil.

It would be nearly impossible for Gustavo Dudamel to live up to the sky-high expectations being placed upon him as the NY Philharmonic's next Music and Artistic Director. Although his tenure doesn't officially start until 2026 (he conducts six weeks next season as "Music and Artistic Director Designate"), Dudamel, 44, is already being placed in the pantheon of great Philharmonic conductors, including Mahler, Toscanini, and especially Leonard Bernstein, whose tenure (1958-69) breathed new life into the Philharmonic while expanding its audience through the then-new medium of television.

But, we live in a different time than Lenny did. This is the era of fly-in conductors, where music directors are no longer expected to live in the city in which they work, or engage with the community beyond a few fundraisers with deep-pocketed patrons. With commitments as little as 12 weeks per season, many conductors now hold two or even three music directorships simultaneously. For what these positions pay - often upwards of $3 million a year - one might wonder if the impact these (mostly) guys make is worth the cost.

Time will tell, but if the past few months are any indication, Gustavo has already made his presence felt in NYC. He was here in March to introduce the 2025-26 season, when he spoke sincerely and forcefully about how music is more then mere "entertainment." Now, in a scheduling coup, Dudamel - who remains the music director of the LA Phil and is one of the world's busiest guest conductors - is back in town to close out the Philharmonic season with a trio of programs that have shown off his prodigious skills in both new and familiar repertory. 

Two weeks ago, Dudamel led a mostly-contemporary program (I went to the Friday matinee on 5/23, which was nearly-sold out) that kicked off with Stravinsky's bold Symphony in Three Movements (1942-45), a NY Phil commission. The work, partly recycled from unused film scores, was written in the shadow of World War II and sounds strikingly American, full of pulsing, maximalist sounds that seemed to foreshadow the music of John Adams, or even John Williams.

Credit: Kate Milford

"Peter was a master of his craft." - Philip Glass (Juilliard classmate)

Despite the occasional overbearing reverence of the concert hall, classical music doesn't always try to be serious. Many attempts have been made over the centuries to lighten things up, both by performers and composers. Unfortunately, most contemporary attempts at classical music humor fail, falling back on tired tropes or sheer buffoonery that show little-to-no musical invention. Turns out it's quite challenging to deliver intelligent humor that appeals to both seasoned listeners and novices alike.

In modern times, no one walked that line better than Peter Schickele, the composer, performer, satirist, impresario, and all-around rascal who died last year after a long illness. Schickele was a true master: sure, he could clown around, but he was also a serious composer with more than 100 works to his credit. Over his seven-decade career, Schickele shared his infectious warmth and joy for music, both in the concert hall and on his long running genre-blending radio show, Schickele Mix.

On Monday night, Schickele's family, friends, and still-excitable fans gathered at the Society for Ethical Culture on the Upper West Side to honor his legacy and hear some of his music. Hosted by WQXR's Elliott Forrest and curated by Peter's daughter Karla, the first half of the evening featured Peter's straight compositions and arrangements, performed by Schickele's children and grandchildren alongside familiar names such as Seth Rudetsky, M Shanghai String Band, and Stephin Merritt from the Magnetic Fields. The performances were interspersed with photos and clips, a poignant reminder of what Peter himself brought to performances of his music.

"The boy’s voice is so compelling to us because it’s like the caterpillar, the butterfly or it’s like the rainbow. Why are we fascinated by those things? Because we know they’re about to change into something else." - Jeremy Filsell (from Gramophone Magazine)

Music is a continuum. It spans time and place. And nowhere is that more evident than St. Thomas Church, where I've been attending concerts, recitals and choral evensong services for more than two decades. For those who aren't familiar, St. Thomas - situated just up Fifth Avenue from the far-more-famous (yet musically inferior) St. Patrick's Cathedral, is one of New York's musical crown jewels, thanks largely to the Choir of Men and Boys, widely regarded as the leading Anglican choral ensemble in the U.S., and one of the finest in the world. (St. Thomas also possesses New York's best pipe organ, the Miller-Scott Organ, whose design was overseen by the late St. Thomas (and former St. Paul's Cathedral) Organist and Director of Music John Scott.)

Integral to the sustained excellence of the boys choir has been its residential choir school, which offers a fully immersive education combining rigorous academic, liturgical and musical training. Founded in 1919 by St. Thomas' (and former York Minster) choirmaster T. Tertius Noble, it is one of only three such institutions remaining in the world, along with the Westminster Abbey Choir School in London and Escolania de Montserrat in Barcelona. Alongside a live-in faculty, the 28 choristers are provided with full room and board - not to mention all of the cultural amenities NYC has to offer - at a fraction of the actual cost.

But apparently, the school has long been a financial drain for the church, consuming nearly a third of its $14 million operating budget; long gone are the days when an Astor or Vanderbilt could open up their prodigious wallets and just write a check to cover the cost. After considering a number of undesirable options - up to and including closing the choir school - the vestry, St. Thomas' governing body, decided to outsource the academic component to the Professional Children’s School (PCS)  while continuing to offer musical and religious instruction in a residential setting.

Which begs the question: how much will outsourcing the choristers' education to a private day school actually save? Some have gone so far as to claim that the change isn't about finances at all, but rather an attempt to deprioritize the boys choir - St. Thomas' flagship ensemble - in order to make the music program more diverse and inclusive, in line with the rest of contemporary society.

"As we transition to a new collaborative Choir School model," Rector Carl F. Turner wrote in January, "the Vestry of Saint Thomas Church will be making changes to its musical program, including the provision for a separate girls’ choir, a choir of professional men and women, and an expanded form of the Noble Singers through an outreach project to local children."