Today he has 150 young musicians, more than a third of them Asian-American. I have an American-born student who sits next to a Korean student who speaks limited English. They may not be able to converse very well, but when you give them the conducting gesture, they make beautiful music together. There really was no diversity. She likes what she sees now.
People bring their different culture and an outlook on the world.
It's so rewarding. That's something that doesn't exist anymore. The thought started running through Marianne Cocozzo's mind about 10 years ago, when her family-run Italian pastry shop, D'Anna's in Garfield, started filling orders for quinceanera cakes. Since the 1940s, it has been a place where men can walk in for a haircut, no appointment necessary. Everybody knows everybody.