Text by Roger Blanc
On Monday, December 2nd, 6:00-8:00 PM, MFM members participated in a Membership Gathering and Social Mixer on the beautiful top floor of the Avalon Clinton on West 52nd Street between 10th &11th Avenues in Manhattan. The event was sponsored in cooperation with the Recording Musicians Association, New York Chapter (RMA-NY), and several of their members were in attendance.
The overall event was instigated by MFM board member Roger Blanc, who is also involved in running RMA-NY; RMA-NY Board members Joanna Maurer and Rachel Drehmann were both instrumental in pulling things together, as was MFM President Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi who handled all communications on the MFM side.
The evening marked the first in-person event held by MFM since the pandemic and the first outside of Local 802 premises for RMA-NY. Members of both organizations thoroughly enjoyed interacting outside of the context of a Zoom box, and the atmosphere between attendees was extremely convivial. Members of both groups enjoyed wine, beer, seltzer, appetizers, and the attractive views of NYC at night from the high floor we occupied. Everyone agreed that both organizations should plan more in-person events in the future.
Some of the topics informally discussed by those in attendance were the challenges posed by technology, the significance of our union, the significance of both live and recorded music, and the need to remain open to the possibility of positive future events that are not yet visible from our current location in history. It was great to have members of Lincoln Center orchestras mixing and mingling with freelance and Broadway musicians; we hope to continue this practice in our future events!
