muny

when alix and i visited nyc in april of last year to visit our schools and do some apartment shopping, we were delighted/terrified/excited/confused by the abundant number of musicians performing their skills in the subway. they would jump on the train just before the doors closed, slam down their boom-boxes, and sing away. some of the acts were more disturbing than others, thus the "terrified/confusion" reaction was included above... however, we quickly found out that although those who jump from train to train are not sanctioned by mta (metropolitan transit authority) to sing for dinero, there is an entire network of people who are registered to perform. but, their acts are more... stationary, as they're assigned a specific location in each subway mezzanine through a program known as "music under new york," or "muny," under the umbrella program of arts for transit. the entire division is devoted to providing entertainment to customers, essentially to make the commute (a whole 'nother issue for east-coasters) more bearable. but, it should be noted, arts for transit is not restricted to music; the mta hosts a variety of outlets for art expression - "the light box," permanent art (including statues, this one at 14th st. & 8th ave), music, posters, and podcasts. 

anyhoo, alix and i live near port authority, so we're frequent flyers of the "ACE" subway line. this morning, i was lucky enough to hear the musical talent of james graseck (as indicated to me by another onlooker), a classical violinist, near my subway entrance. it's refreshing to see, that although the economy is truly recovering from crippling times, people continue to share their skills with others. even better, the mta hosts these works. and best of all, a lot of these works are designed & performed by a variety of people from all different backgrounds. nice, eh? we've really come a long way.

something similar, and equally amazing: garden in transit.