In December of 2008, my young friend Johnny Curry was murdered in his apartment in Troy, New York.
Johnny
was a talented violist and just an all around wonderful soul. You can
tell by this photograph and his big smile, that he made everyone smile
whenever he was around.
At
the time of his death, he was a student at Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute, and had just finished his last final for the semester and was
gathering up his stuff to come home for Chirstmas. The investigation
into his death is still ongoing, but it's pretty clear that someone had
broken into his apartment, trying to rob him, and he was shot.
Johnny
was one of those people that if you needed a hand in something, he was
there to help. I remember him coming to one of my gigs in NYC, and he
volunteered to carry the drummer's massive "trap case" down several
flights of stairs and onto the street. That case was so heavy, and
Johnny just picked it up like it was a picnic basket.
I also
remember the hundreds of conversations we had on music. He was
constantly checking out new music and new ideas. One night I took him to
a concert at the new music performance space "Roulette" in NYC, to hear the innovative pianist Michael Harrison.
Michael uses "just intonation", or pure tuning, the universal
foundation for harmony which is constructed from musical intervals of
perfect mathematical proportions as in the days of Pythagoras. He has a
special way of tuning the piano to achieve this. As Johnny and I sat and
listened, we immediately looked at each other after the first few notes
were played, with that "what is that sound" look. But after a few
minutes, it sounded completely normal, and magical. When we got back in
the car to drive home, we were listening to some music on the radio, and
again, our ears were in shock, we had to turn the radio off, we wanted
to stay in the "just intonation" mode for the ride home. We talked all
the way home about Pythagoras, Music of the Spheres, where does music
come from, it was a really wonderful night.
Since his death, his family, friends and the orchestra that he played in, The Northern New Jersey Youth Symphony, has
held a concert in his memory, and created the John F. Curry 3 Music
Fund to support orchestra participation and the purchase of instruments
for deserving young musicians.
The Program:The evening begins at
6:00 with solo performances (my son and I will play on this segment of the program) and small ensembles. Students of the CHAMPS NJSO program, directed by Michelle Hatcher will perform:Pachelbel, Beethoven Lullaby, and Bile em' Cabbage. There is a break for dinner at 7PM, provided by Johnny's family and firends, and a time for sharing memories of Johnny. At 8 p.m., the Northern New Jersey Youth Orchestra with alumni and friends, directed
by Todd Van Beveren, will perform the Bach Concerto for Violin and Oboe, St. Paul's Suite by Holst and Elgar's Elegy.
For the concert in 2011, the Curry family gave me recordings that Johnny had made of his compositional sketches, music he was composing for his mother. From those sketches I created a solo piano piece which you can see and hear, here. This year, my son, Chad Moser will join me on bass, playing those sketches.
Refreshments
are served before, during and after the event, hosted by family and
friends. These are not ordinary refreshments, but tables and tables of
hor s d'oeuvres, entrees and desserts, with lots of beverages, and
everyone talking and laughing and remembering Johnny.
The concert is open to the public, so please come and enjoy the music, and the fellowship.
These young musicians are wonderful, and many of Johnny's teachers perform with them side by side.
John F. Curry 3 Memorial Concert
Saturday, June 13
6:00PM-10PM
UnionCongregation Church
176
Cooper Ave
Upper Montclair, NJ 07043
a $10 donation is requested
