The Staten Island Philharmonic is adventure-ready ahead of their next show but there’s one crucial piece that will really help them sing.

Or rather, one person.

John Adrian is the ensemble’s vice president and technical director. The Philharmonic performs all over Staten Island. Adrian, a volunteer, makes sure all of the sound equipment works and mixes well together when it is showtime.

“I have been doing it for so many decades,” he said. “And I’m working with equipment that I know. and I’m working with people I like. and this is important.”

Adrian discovered a love for audio and visual technology as a teenager.

“An innate talent for understanding how it works. That’s the only way I can describe it,” he said.

Half a century and scores of A/V projects later, a friend asked the St. George resident to help prepare equipment for an upcoming Staten Island Philharmonic performance.

“I looked at her like ‘Now’s a week before a concert,’” he said. “I looked at her and I said ‘You might have given me a little advance warning.'”

Adrian now assists with the Philharmonic’s dozen plus shows each year… making sure audiences can hear every note.

“There’s a lot of technical details that need to be, that need to be attended to,” said Lawrence Zaidan, a guest conductor with the ensemble.  “And, and John helps out with all of that stuff.”  

“He has tremendous value,” said Kevin Clark. He plays the bass trombone and serves the Philharmonic’s treasure, assistant contractor and librarian.

“Because as an independent set of ears out apart from the orchestra, he can see if we’re missing the balance internally, then he can adjust for it,” Clark added. 

Adrian also helps the community in other ways. He teaches driving safety classes with AARP. He writes and performs with a senior citizen theater troupe. And the 83-year-old is the treasurer of his church.

“We have a wide range of ages and orientations and interests,” Adrian said. It makes my life interesting.”

It’s an interesting life for Adrian as he creates moments of harmony.

“I enjoy the music,” he said. “I enjoy the challenge of the work.” 

For sharing a tune of service, John Adrian is our New Yorker of the Week.