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… Unless you 1) bought tickets months ago or 2) are a student at Savoy Elementary School.
This morning, superstar cellist and all-around nice guy Yo-Yo Ma came to Savoy Elementary in Anacostia to teach two in-class workshops and give a performance for students. Much like Rancid, Ma sometimes likes to give free surprise gigs at odd venues; this author once attended a Christmas Eve service at a church in Boston in which an unassuming man suddenly showed up on stage with a cello, played a Bach air, and then left without saying a word. The minister later remarked, “Many of you may be thinking that person looked like Yo-Yo Ma, or that he sounded like Yo-Yo Ma. In fact, I can assure you he was Yo-Yo Ma.”
Ma’s visit to Savoy wasn’t one of his impromptu concerts though; this was planned in conjunction with his solo recital at the Kennedy Center last night, arranged by the Washington Performing Arts Society. It’s the first of a pair of high-profile concerts put on by WPAS at the Kennedy Center this week. The second is tonight, with Gustavo Dudamel and the Orquesta Sinfónica Simón Bolívar.
No one is more loyal than Dudamel himself, who talks about Abreu the way crazy white people talk about Ron Paul. Dudamel retained direction of El Sistema’s flagship, the Orquesta Sinfónica Simón Bolívar, even after leaving for California. Now a global touring institution, the youth orchestra plays on stages other youth orchestras never get to see, a testament both to their level of musicianship and also to the hype. The L.A. Phil is Dudamel’s job, but Simón Bolívar is his beloved alma mater, and together they put on a rambunctious show. Unfortunately tonight’s show sold out long ago; those lucky enough to get tickets in advance should have a ball.
Yo Yo Ma photo courtesy Resource Entertainment Group