Edition No. 8
In this Edition
Arts and Culture
For 40 years, American pianist and composer George Winston has inspired audiences with music ranging from celebratory to solemn and lyrical to percussive. His solo piano work, Thanksgiving, offers a moment of reflection as we approach the holiday season.
Community and Family
With Thanksgiving just around the corner, this TED talk from monk and interfaith scholar David Steindl Rast proposes that the simplest way to live a life full of happiness and joy is to practice gratitude for the world around you.
Our American Values
As the Supreme Court welcomes a new judge to its ranks, we look back on the poignant life of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Join for a conversation focusing on the Court, its traditions, and her career, presented by the 92nd Street Y.
Thanksgiving by George Winston
American pianist George Winston has inspired audiences with his unique solo piano work for more than 40 years, selling fifteen million albums along the way. His evocative music seems to offer a moment to take a step back from our perpetually busy lives and let our minds wander adventurously.
Growing up in Montana — and later, Mississippi and Florida — Winston’s early musical influences came from instrumental rock and R&B, with Floyd Cramer, the Ventures, Booker T and the MG’s, and Jimmy Smith named among his favorites. While his original compositions may sometimes seem to draw upon classical influences, Winston was never enthralled with that particular musical idiom: “I never played any music from the great European classical tradition, nor have any desire to,” he says. “My approach is entirely North American, rather than European, and I treat the piano as an Afro-American tuned drum.”
Winston’s 1982 album, December, includes the track featured here: Thanksgiving. The album was inspired by the early winter season, and was the follow-up to his previous solo piano recordings, Autumn and Winter Into Spring. Based on a simple chord progression repeated throughout the piece with flowing variations and inspired improvisations, this piece seems to perfectly capture the spirit of Thanksgiving, offering a moment of quiet musical reflection amidst the bustle of the holiday season.
Want To Be Happy? Be Grateful.
The one thing all humans have in common is a deep desire to be happy. We seek joy and happiness in almost everything we do. What sparks our joy? What brings us happiness? As we approach this season of Thanksgiving, we must pause to appreciate the simple things that have brought us so much joy and happiness. Our family. Our friends. The love and support of our community. How are we practicing gratitude this Thanksgiving holiday?
“A grateful world is a world of joyful people. Grateful people are joyful people, and joyful people — the more and more joyful people there are, the more and more we’ll have a joyful world.”
As the perfect appetizer for your Thanksgiving meal, this talk from TEDGlobal 2013 features monk and interfaith scholar David Steindl-Rast, who suggests that our genuine happiness is born from gratitude. Brother David keeps his message simple: “It is not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy.” This wildly popular 15-minute talk calls listeners to begin living life gratefully. To be aware of the time and gifts around them. And while this simple act of just appreciating the things, people, and ideas around us may feel almost too easy, Steindl-Rast believes it could spark a revolution. A collection of people so grateful, their joy and happiness have the power to change the world around them. So as we dive into the holiday season, use this presentation to slow down, look where you’re going, and above all, be grateful.
The Notorious RBG in Her Own Words
As her successor begins hearing oral arguments as a member of the Court, this seems a good time to reconsider the life and work of the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. In September 2019, she visited with Carlyle Group Chairman David Rubinstein at New York’s 92nd Street Y. Rubinstein, a leader in the Patriotic Philanthropy movement, asked Justice Ginsburg about the Court, its traditions, some cases, and her career. This session runs 58 minutes.
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