Some years back I had a Youth Orchestra in Kentucky and we went on tour in the state and played this music. For a lot of the kids it was their first time encountering Bernstein and this very special creation. I can still remember their faces and their delight in hearing and performing it.
I'm listening to this on the Internet radio from Michigan State University (WKAR - an internet treasure) and remembering seeing it ages ago in a community production that was probably awful but seemed like magic back then.
The music is as fresh as wet ink on manuscript. The sounds hang like moonbeams.