Carnegie Hall

Ethan performed at Carnegie Hall!! And I got to watch!! He left Thursday night, April 11th. After talking with our neighbor, Friday morning, it was determined that I would fly on her buddy pass and go to New York on Saturday morning, April 13th. Ethan had no idea I was coming. Two flights later, I arrived in NY Saturday night. I visited Rockefeller, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Times Square and hit up a good Pub. I called Ethan Sunday morning and told him I was coming. He was shocked!! I spent Sunday morning going to Bryant Park, walking down 5th Ave, going to the Harry Potter store, walked by the Empire State Building and Central Park and got breakfast that morning at Liberty Bagel. Then I went to Carnegie Hall to watch him perform.

Watching Ethan play at Carnegie Hall in NYC with the Santa Clarita Valley Youth Orchestra with tears streaming down my face as he was playing a solo on a piece he helped compose on Sunday, April 14, 2024 will always be one of the best all time moments of my life. His first glimpse as he saw me in the audience cheering, is one I will never forget. He was beaming from ear to ear. Seeing his name in an official Carnegie Hall Playbill was just surreal. There are no words when you see your child excel at something, at this level, that they love & worked so hard for.

After his orchestra finished, I found him backstage. We just hugged the biggest of hugs as we cried, with neither of us letting go for a long time. It was my favorite hug he’s ever given me. 

After he finished and ate with his group, we met up in Times Square for pictures. Then Ethan and I went to The Empire State Building. On the way, it started to rain and we were soaked. But when we got to the 80th floor, it had stopped raining and it was so windy that we dried off almost instantly. We then went to the 90th floor and had even better views. It was so fun! It was also so late! We were up there until 10:30pm. Then we got some food from a food cart, gifts for the family and I walked him to his hotel at 11:30pm. It was so fun and memorable. 

The 5 standby flights, Ubers, shuttles, early mornings, late nights & whirlwind of 3 days was absolutely worth it & I would do it again in a heartbeat just to surprise & watch him perform again. 

Going home on Monday was wild. I ended up having to go on 3 separate flights to get home and got bumped from two. I was freaking out and so tired. Ethan got home around 8pm and I got home around 10:45pm. It was such a whirlwind and a WILD 3 days. I am beyond happy I got to watch him perform. And I recorded it... even though that wasn't allowed. Hahaha 

I was so proud of myself for doing this trip by myself. I was so nervous to do it all alone and I was proud I did it. Ethan said he was so happy to have someone in the audience that was there just for him. It was just so amazing.

********

Ethan,

Congratulations on your Carnegie Hall debut. Thank you for spending your remaining evening with just me at the top of the Empire State Building to close out such an incredible day. I will never forget it.

Music is your passion. It always has been. You’ve put in the work & truly earned this opportunity. Your determination & dedication is unmatched. It’s so admirable. I won’t ever be able to adequately say how proud I am of you. But I can promise you, I will always & forever be your biggest cheerleader & supporter in everything that you do. I love you more than you will ever know & being your mom is one of the greatest joys & blessings of my life. I am immensely grateful I was able to witness this incredible moment in your journey. You are going to go so far in this world & I can’t wait to see all you do.

I am just so proud of you, my son.

Love, mom.