“The Kennywood exit!”
“Pardon?” I replied.
“I take the Kennywood exit to get to your house. First exit after the Squirrel Hill Tunnel.”
“Oh, well, yes. That is ‘the Kennywood exit!’ ”
This conversation took place as I gave directions to my Swissvale home to someone kind enough to take my wobbly old IKEA bookshelf off my hands and give it a new life under the weight of fewer books and records.
And now, just as I introduced myself to the kind stranger who took my old bookshelf, I’d like to introduce myself to you. My name is Heidi. I live in Swissvale, on the other side of the Squirrel Hill Tunnel, at the Kennywood exit. My home is filled with books, music in various physical formats and a plethora of instruments to create more music of multiple genres. And I’m the new Music Hall director at the Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall in Carnegie. Or the Carnegie Carnegie …
In addition to the warm welcome from my new coworkers, I felt right at home in this building filled with books, history and music-making. Having been entrusted with much of the content for the Carnegie Carnegie’s performance spaces, I solemnly swear I will never subject our audiences to music of my own creation. My accordion, saxophone and theremin (look it up!) will remain safely in Swissvale. You deserve better.
As of this past August, I began my daily commute of driving through the Squirrel Hill tunnel. And then, in less time than the time it takes for an extended jazz solo, I arrive at this beautiful historic building — a library and so much more!
I’d heard of the Carnegie Carnegie before I started working here. I’d even attended a couple of concerts in the wonderful Music Hall. However, I didn’t visit all that often since I would have had to cross a bridge and go through two — TWO! — tunnels to get there.
But seriously, if you start listening to John Coltrane’s rendition of “My Favorite Things” upon exiting the Squirrel Hill Tunnel, you’ll arrive in Carnegie before the track is over. I didn’t know what I was missing.
In my two months at the Carnegie Carnegie, I’ve had the pleasure of three unique live music experiences in three unique spaces, all within the same facility. In the last days of summer, I was treated not only to a beautiful sunset over Carnegie but also to the smooth and hot licks of RML Jazz with Listen Locally Outside on the piazza.
Late September brought a much-anticipated return to the superb acoustics of our elegant Music Hall. Listen Locally’s season opener featured the cinematically electric Cello Fury, their symphonic sounds driven by a rock beat. Then, did you know there was a downstairs space? I didn’t. It turns out that the lower level of the building houses the Carnegie Carnegie’s Studio, serving up fresh club vibes for the Listen Locally Downstairs series. At the end of October, the ladies of the BGVs (aka BackGround Vocals) were front and center for Listen Locally Downstairs Returns with their dynamic vocals delivering the best of Motown.
So far, we’ve had jazz outside, classical and rock inside and Motown downstairs.
What’s next?
I’m glad you asked. I invite you to the Music Hall for an evening of traditional, contemporary and original songs with Pittsburgh favorite, but Dublin-born, singer/songwriter Mark Dignam at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 5. Molly “The Fiddler” Thompson, singer/guitarist Kathy Fallon, certified Irish dance teacher Catie McCarthy and students from the Bell School of Irish Dance join in the fun. Irish voice, fiddle and feet come together for a dazzling musical performance steeped in Irish tradition. Tickets are available through our website at CarnegieCarnegie.org.
If you’re joining us from this side of the bridge, reserve those tickets as soon as you can. We’ve let the cat out of the bag to the folks on the other side of the tunnels, and it won’t take them very long to get here.
Heidi Baldt Matthews is the Music Hall Director at the Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall.