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MORE MUSIC ?
Take a moment and imagine what our lives
would be like if there were no more music - no CDs, no music on TV or
accompanying movies or theatrical productions, no music playing in elevators or
stores and no music in church. Not
only would there be the bleak loss of sound, but also a loss of a large portion
of the magic in our lives.
I seriously wonder how many people even know about the magic in music.
CDs
and videos are all terrific avenues for expanding our knowledge of music but
music only truly exists in live performances.
I’m not even talking about only great performances, just serious,
well-intentioned, well-prepared performances.
When “two or more are gathered together” and then add music,
there is something difficult to define but truly impossible to live fully
without.
I
have been a “listening participant” in halls like Carnegie when 3,000 people
were afraid to breathe for fear of spoiling the magical aura.
I have performed in concerts where the love for the beautiful music
seemed to merge into one energy that could nearly be seen.
For me, music is only truly alive when experienced “live”.
Everyone
is busy. That’s not news.
A lot of people study music but never make going to live performances an
integral part of that study. That
is a big mistake and a huge loss.
Music by artificial means (CDs, etc…) is a large step removed from what
music truly is. To deprive yourself
or your child who studies from experiencing this “magic” is to miss out on
one of the mysteries of life. Simple
as that. AND there are musical
performances in your community, in your church if you are lucky enough to have a
more than minimally competent music director and right across the river the
greatest musicians in the world perform regularly.
I
recently gave a concert and was pleased by the number of students, both adults
and children, who attended but was also appalled by the greater number who
“forgot” or were “too busy with other things”.
What could be more important than even
the slight chance of feeding the spirit? That
is the sort of thing that keeps us going - motivated, inspired.
To
remind you of upcoming performances:
NOVEMBER 9, 2003 - Sunday at 3 PM at St. Matthew Trinity Lutheran Church: A Benefit Concert of Great Music for Organ, Choir, Brass and Tympani.
DECEMBER 14, 2003 - Sunday at the Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium (the Metropolitan Museum of Art): the New York debut of the great Russian pianist, Nikolai Lugansky (check the MMA website for tickets).
JANUARY 31, 2004 - Saturday at 8 PM at Carnegie Hall: the pianistic wizard, Arcady Volodos (check Carnegie website for tickets).
March 11, 2004 - Thursday at 8 M at Carnegie hall:
the breath-taking Russian pianist, Mikhail Pletnev (check Carnegie
website for tickets).
I
will be adding to this list as things come up.
Don’t forget OUR school concert on DECEMBER
6, 2003 at the St. Matthew Trinity Lutheran Parish Hall on Saturday at 6 PM.
Please
seriously consider these remarks about live performance.
Not only your study but your lives can be seriously enhanced if you take
advantage of these opportunities to experience
the magic.
Blessings for the holidays,
PD
