Number theory

I like 251. It’s prime, which is a pretty rare distinction at this magnitude (there are only 16 primes between 201-300). And it was the foundation of my Scarlatti ii-V-I intro pun. 

But when the village of Essex Junction calved off from Essex Town, my number went to 252. Not prime, but it has some redeeming features. It’s 7 x 36, and 6 x 42, Coincidentally, as I write this, I’m exactly 1/7 of the way through (36 completed concerts) while 6 more are fully confirmed, meaning exactly 1/6 of all towns (42) have been played or scheduled. And 7 x 36 also means that at an average of exactly 3 concerts a month, the project will last exactly 7 years, which is my current goal. Which is of course subject to change, like everything about the project. Like everything, period. If the destabilization of the climate continues to accelerate as it has been, it’s not obvious we’ll have a well-organized society six years from now.

However, 252 is not my actual number. I plan to play the four gores and grants as well, as I suggested at the outset of the project. The gores and grants are not, and have never been, officially organized municipalities, so they were never part of the official tally of 251 or 252. But I’m using a gradually filling-in map as the trademark representation of the project's progress. If I don’t play the gores and grants, there will be residual white space, and the project will look forever incomplete.

So my true target number is 256. Also not prime, but a power of 2, 2⁸, which is nice. 

As the gores and grants are not proper towns, I don’t have to do proper concerts there. Like: I don’t have to play a new, ordinally matched Scarlatti sonata, I don’t have to have a local collaborator, I don’t have to play a full concert of an hour or more, and I don’t necessarily have to play the piano. Also, to avoid confusion, I’ll give them ancillary numerical designations, like “51a” for a gore performance that follows the 51^st regular concert.

Again, as with everything about this project, all professed schemes are subject to change, with details coming into focus as the events approach.