The subway, or at least Grand Central Madison, was alive with the sound of music Wednesday as dozens of musicians auditioned for a program that gives them the right to perform in some prime subway locations.
Musicians near signs indicating “2025 Music Under New York Auditions” sang and played classics from Louis Armstrong to contemporaries, from Britney Spears to Bach, the Beatles and R & B, vying for spots. About 130 people and groups applied and about 50 auditioned
“About half of those audition will be selected,” said Cheryl Hageman, deputy director of MTA arts and design. “We don’t have a set number.”
Around two dozen judges patiently took notes, applauded and cheered, evaluating quality, variety and appropriateness as musicians competed in a kind of American Subway Idol. Winners, who will be informed within a few weeks, earn the right to play at prime locations in the subway for life as long as they comply with rules.
“This is a good opportunity to get us playing more, more exposure, bringing our music to more people in New York City,” said Thomas Abercrombie, trumpet player for Brass Monkeys, which already plays at Radegast Hall in Williamsburg. “We love to play, party. Any time we can bring our energy to people, it feels good.”
Dense Meltzer, a traveling band teacher at Murray and Chatsworth Avenue schools in Mamaroneck and mother of two who already busks, hopes to move up to prime locations in the labyrinth of locations.
“I’m looking to get some performing opportunities and share my music,” said Meltzer, who played the music of female vocalists and classical trumpet repertoire.
Judges, including buskers adept at performing in what may be the city’s biggest concert hall, said they were evaluating more than musical chops.
“I’m looking for action and energy,” said Yut Chia, an Elmhurst resident and violinist who plays electronic dance music, helping judge. “I’m assuming there’s talent, because it’s New York. You have to connect with people.”
He said he has learned to seize and hold passersby’s attention, since starting performing in the subway at age 16. “I get big crowds. It’s fun. They all surround me,” Chia said. “You can make a good amount.”
The Music Under New York (MTA Music) program, which started in 1985, includes more than 350 performers and ensembles that do about 10,000 performances annually at more than 40 subway locations.
Selected performers get permission to perform in certain, prime designated areas within the subway system.
Performers in the program get training, orientation and personalized MTA Music banners along with the right to be programmed in to play sites such as 161st St. and Yankee Stadium, 59th and 60th Street and Columbus Circle.
Other sites include Rockefeller Center, the Port Authority Bus Terminal, Times Square, Grand Central, Astor Place, the Long Island Railroad’s Atlantic Terminal, the St. George Ferry Terminal and others.
Some favorite songs included “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” performed in front of a long table with the looming faces of judges scribbling notes.
Passersby, meanwhile, sometimes stumbled onto what looked like a reality show with performers picking and playing away.
“I didn’t know you had to audition to be in some parts of the subway. I think it’s fitting that they’re doing it at the subway,” said Mary Adesina, 20, a Long Island resident who took the train to Mercy College, listening to R&B and then to the auditions that turned the hall into a concert hall. “I love music. Sometimes I stop for a second and listen. There are people who sing and cover songs on the subway. That’s mostly what I hear.”
Chia’s favorite places to play in this underground music scene include 42nd and 34th Streets as well as Jackson Heights.
“It’s all tourists at 42nd and 34th Streets,” Chia said, wearing a red Fendi shirt. “Jackson Heights is all my Spanish people. I turn up the Spanish music and make it a party.”
Meltzer hopes to be accepted into the program to play in Grand Central, which she sees as a place chock full of potential concert goers.
“I busked a lot in the city. I usually play in the subway,” said Meltzer, who performed Sabrina Carpenter, Britney Spears, Billie Eilish and “The Carnival of Venice,” a classic for trumpet, said. “I’m already busking and playing in my basement and any other gigs.
If selected, she hopes to play two or three times a week in the summer and once a week during the school year.
“To challenge myself, learn new repertoire, connect with an audience,” Meltzer said. “Making money’s nice too. It’s exciting to have an opportunity to see how it goes.”
