Pennsylvania-based orchestra's musical barge is up for sale

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) - Two cities in upstate New York are in the running to acquire a barge that has served as a floating stage for a Pennsylvania-based orchestra since 1976.

The Wall Street Journal reports (http://on.wsj.com/2uFOvBj ) that the 195-foot (59-meter) Point Counterpoint II is up for sale by the American Wind Symphony Orchestra of Butler County, Pennsylvania.

The barge has logged hundreds of thousands of nautical miles transporting the orchestra to waterfront performances in the U.S., Europe and the Caribbean.

Ninety-year-old Robert Boudreau, the vessel's skipper and the orchestra's conductor, is stepping down. The barge appeared destined for the scrapyard until cellist Yo-Yo Ma recently wrote that the vessel designed by famed architect Louis Kahn needs to be saved.

Potential bidders for the barge, currently docked in Illinois, include the cities of Buffalo and Kingston.

___

Information from: The Wall Street Journal, http://www.wsj.com