Alice, I finally got to watch the CSPAN rebroadcast of the event late yesterday evening. Like you , I found the Williams' "Simple Gifts" piece very moving... and made more so by the ethnic composition of the ensemble. The Jew, The Chinese American, The African-American, The Latino pianist... I grew up in a 'melting pot' city environ where we all tended to be rough on each other. What a gift to now enjoy the fluid merging of these once disparate voices - within the construct of Williams' new look into that simple melody. What a day for transition symbols - Teddy and Byrd and the chairbound Cheney (Were's a 220 Volt outlet when you need one?) and the last look at the smirk on the face of the murdering puppet/prince... Oh yeah, Aretha Rocked the House... and Lowery brought us all home.
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