Steven Rochen, Gala Honoree, conducted the 70 students in front of the 3rd Street Music School. PHOTOS BY BOB KRASNER
Third Street Music School musicians come
together for live performance
BY BOB KRASNER
There are some obstacles that can be overcome
by the ever-present Zoom and there are some
that cannot.
Steven Rochen, teacher and conductor for over 30
years at the Third Street Music School, can testify that
there is no substitute for an orchestra playing together
in person.
“You look for a sense of blend, an aggregate sound,”
he explains. Although some of his students – such as the
foreign ones – are still remote, over 70 of his musicians
gathered in front of the school on a recent Saturday
morning to play together for the fi rst time since the
lockdown. He found the blend he was looking for as
the group ” came together in the fi rst ten minutes of
rehearsal! They were so eager to play together.”
They were also happy to be fi lmed, as the performance
was recorded for presentation as part of the school’s
upcoming gala fundraiser, which will be presented
virtually and hosted by actor Julianne Moore and her
husband, director/fi lm producer Bart Freundlich, who
are parents of Third Street alumni. “The gala should
have been held in a beautiful ballroom in a fancy hotel,”
Communications Director Kristen Kentner laments.
“But,” she continues, ”we hope to be in person next
year. And we are still trying to capture the joyfulness,
resiliency, celebration, togetherness and all the other
things that music is.”
Viewers are encouraged to watch the gala (registration
is free) on May 5 and contribute if they feel inclined. The
show will honor Rochen as well as Grammy-nominated
musician Yola and Myra Nieves, the school’s Assistant
Director of Student Services. According to Kentner, “the
Third Street Music School Settlement provides highquality
music and dance education through on-site and
virtual, public-school and community programs, as well
as an arts-infused preschool to New Yorkers of all ages,
regardless of background, artistic ability or economic
circumstance. No student is ever turned away because
of their ability to pay. “
Although some of the students, who range in age from
7 to 15 years old, are still stuck in their homelands – like
Nancy Morgan, Chief Programs Officer, presents
Steven Rochen with an award honorong his
”outstanding contributions to the Third Street
community and the classical music community
at large.
the one in New Zealand who gets up at 2 am to attend
class via Zoom – the local musicians can look forward
to more rehearsal together as well as another street
performance in the near future.
And Rochen can, presumably, expect more of what
he felt at the premiere reunion performance. It was, he
said, “complete exhilaration.”
All the information you need about the gala can be
found atwww.virtualthirdstreet.org/gala-2021.
Musicians ranged in age from 7 to 15 years old.
Schneps Media April 29, 2021 17
/gala-2021
