And this is no April fool's joke. Joe, you are one of the most humble and talented (that rare combination) people I have ever encountered. I do realize that you are busy, but we need to know more about you.

So, I'll start. How did you end up on Staten Island and tell us about your musical education.

Tap tap tap...you're it RP!

OK...got one that might evolve to 2 or 3 for you.

When did you get interested in contemporary music and did you start off like the rest of us in classical training and how young were you when you started?

OH, and do you ever still play 'regular' classical music?

Ha ha! Great choice!

Let me think about this a while and then I'll bother you with some ask you some questions.

How long have you been married, Joe? Tell us about your kids?

How did the interest in tea begin?

jf

You've mentioned cycling. How long have you been riding? What are you riding now? What's been your longest (time/distance) ride to date? Tell us about some of your favorite rides (pictures optional).

Big Al

quote:

Originally posted by lilylady:
Tap tap tap...you're it RP!

You know, you can just make stuff up. Who's going to know?

I've been to his house.

Joe, if you don't start replying pretty soon....you will have 7 pages to go through before you start!

Hmm, to start with KK's question:

(Sorry I don't know how to just drop in a one-line quote from an earlier post without copying the whole post and then deleting all the text around it. If anybody wants to tell me how, I'd be much obliged.)

How did you end up on Staten Island?

When we decided to move to NYC, we looked at many neighborhoods: Westchester: too uppercrusty. Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, nearby NJ: too congested. Long Island: too remote from everything. Staten Isl. was close to what I perceived as my main work area, downtown Manhattan (below 14th St.) That's where the new music scene was, in which I was interested.

SI has single-family homes on large lots and we could see our kids growing up here. Property taxes are a lot lower than outside NYC limits. I could always get home at night by public transit, no matter how late.

This part of SI, our little enclave, has its problems but is basically a charming Victorian nabe. (Some of you have been here.) I can ride my bike to do most errands, and be at the ferry to Manhattan in 15 minutes by bike or bus.

Tell us about your musical education.

Ages 7 to 13, basic piano lessons at a music store in the suburb where I grew up. It was pretty much all popular music, since that was all they taught there, in simple arrangements that got pretty boring. Finally they caught on and directed me to a music school downtown where I could learn classical music. I loved that immediately, and after a couple of years of that it was off to college.

Went to SUNY Buffalo, in my home town, in the late 1960s where I took lessons with renowned pianist Leo Smit. In 1970 I took a one-year Masters degree from the Peabody Conservatory, studying with Walter Hautzig. Then it was out into the world!

It's a good thing I'm home most of today, to answer questions.

Get used to it. It lasts a month.

quote:

Originally posted by Daniel:
Get used to it. It lasts a month.