I’m pleased to let you know that the National String Symphonia, helmed by music director David Fanning, will be performing my piece The Fireman’s Carnival next month. This five-movement work for strings and clarinet is based on a treasured childhood memory of mine: the one weekend every summer when the volunteer fire department in my tiny Pennsylvania town would host a traveling carnival as a fundraiser.
The carnival would arrive and get set up in one night. It seemed to appear magically, like a mushroom after rain. The rides were small and probably dangerous. They were run by strange men in greasy clothing whose attention to safety was questionable. The carnival only ran at night. My four sisters and I were able to ride our bicycles to it. And riding home at the impossibly late hour of 10 pm was something of a dream.
The program will be performed at several Maryland venues, in Wheaton on November 2; in Frederick on November 8; and in Ellicott City on November 9. For more information or for tickets, visit the orchestra’s webpage, nssorchestra.org.