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MTA holds auditions for subway musician program

BY STEVE RITEA | steve.ritea@newsday.com

May 2, 2008

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Steve Booke has watched so many stressed-out commuters run for their trains, he figures it's time to bring the healing power of his guitar their way.

Anyone who's seen "Oprah" or watched programs on The Travel Channel may have heard the Lynbrook resident's "exotic meditative" riffs as shows segue into commercials. Now, Booke, 38, is ready to share his music with riders.

"It's a great venue to help heal people," he said.

On Thursday, Booke and about 60 other musicians from across the metropolitan area gathered on a balcony at Grand Central Terminal to audition for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's "Music Under New York" program, which adds some 20 new acts a year to perform in 23 prime underground spots, including at Penn Station.

Although anyone can strap on a guitar and step onto a subway platform, performing under the MTA banner assures acts won't get shooed off by cops concerned about crowds.

While " American Idol" comparisons abound, MTA Arts for Transit Assistant Director Amy Hausmann resists any comparisons.

"'American Idol' is looking to get one idol," she said. "We're looking to get a lot of great musicians that we can present to a lot of people in the system."

Those invited to attend yesterday's six hours of auditions were culled from about 230 submissions mailed to the MTA.

Among them was Kip Rosser, 54, of Morrisville, Pa., who waved his hands around the antennas on his theremin to conjure ghostly electronic versions of Duke Ellington's "In a Sentimental Mood" and The Beatles' "Hey Jude."

Invented in 1919 by a Russian physicist, the theremin uses electromagnetic fields and turns motion into sound.

"If I play 'Hey Jude,' people will run from across the street," Rosser said.

Balla Tounkara, 39, of Brooklyn, auditioned on his kora, a West African, 21-string instrument he made as a child from cowhide and a gourd dried in the sun. He was taught by his grandfather in Africa.

"You hear the kora and it just touches people," he said.

Each performed for a wide variety of judges -- transit and music experts alike -- who will announce winners in a few weeks.

Jenneth Webster, a judge who has produced Lincoln Center's Out of Doors program, said she looks for musicians who are talented, but also right for a subway station.

"They're going to be in a very loud, chaotic environment," she said.

Tara Hack, 20, of West Babylon, was among those auditioning. She belted out a Michelle Branch cover on her guitar after hearing about the program from her father and brother, both conductors on the Long Island Rail Road.

She's never performed in the subways but is prepared for a tough crowd. "I expect people to walk by me," Hack said.