Mark Stewart's "To Whom It May Concern, Thank You" | ETHEL | TEDxManhattan

This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences.
Acclaimed as America's premier postclassical string quartet, ETHEL invigorates contemporary concert music with refreshing exuberance, fierce intensity, imaginative programming and exceptional artistry. Formed in 1998, New York's ebullient ETHEL performs adventurous music of the past four decades, with emphasis on works composed since 1995.

Since we're on the subject of food today,

we thought it would be
appropriate to bring you

a piece that's all about saying grace.

This is by our dear friend Mark Stewart.

He is a member
of the Bang on a Can community,

and he's Paul Simon's music director.

Mark's father is an episcopal priest,
and his mother is an atheist.

So you can imagine, at family dinner time,
they've got fun discussions of,

"What exactly do we do with grace?"

So, mom came up with a brilliant idea,
after which Mark named this piece.

So, one year,
Thanksgiving time I guess it was,

mom stood up, time to say grace,
and she said,

"To whom it may concern --

(Laughter)

-- thank you."

(Laughter)

(Music)

(Applause)