"Ahh, music, he said, wiping his eye...a magic beyond
all we do here."****
--J.K. Rowling
Today is the celebration of Beethoven's 248th birthday--his baptism occurred on the 17th. He changed music more than any composer before him, and most who came after him, particularly in the Romantic period, revered him. Schubert even asked to be buried next to him. Now, I don't dare compare myself to Beethoven, but he and I have many things in common, chief among them is the belief in the power of music. Music has never failed me once, and I look to it often to.....make things better.
Yesterday, I got to play a cantata alongside my 16-year-old son, Grant. It was a pretty amazing experience. Music has always been something Grant and I have shared, but it was usually in a teacher-student relationship. Today, we were peers. Equals. I got to create art with my kid! At times, while counting 82 measures of rests, I'd look over at Grant, notice the focus on his face, and then thrill at both the touch and musicianship with which he played. Still in awe. Great job, son. Thank you, Paula Sue Duebelt, for trusting my call to hire students to play in your cantata.
When you play music for an audience, and if it's great music, and if you're doing your job as a musician, you get caught up in the music. You might say you get lost in it. It's transcendental. It becomes you. You become it. Horn player to your right, trombone and tuba to your left, pianist, strings, keyboard, and woodwinds to your far right, and percussion in front of you, you become a unit, unified through melody, harmony, and rhythm across the space between you. Sound appears out of thin air! It's magic! And it's a magic beyond any I know. And the best part is that people actually sit and listen to you. Some of them wish they could be you.
In my music appreciation classes, I'm often asked what my favorite music is. That's hard to answer, as it is for all musicians. Sometimes I've been asked what the best performance I've ever seen, or the best concert I've ever been to. Surprisingly, I've been to very few concerts. Here are a few...
While I'm not a huge country music fan, I did hear Brad Paisley at the Grand Ole Opry once. It was the night before Easter Sunday, and he played "I Come to the Garden Alone" and "Old Rugged Cross." It was him, a guitar, a microphone, and spotlight. It was completely over the top, and I've never forgotten it. One person, holding 1000 persons in the palm of his hand. Transfixed. That's what music does.
When I was in 10th grade, I went to hear the legend--Maynard Ferguson. That dude was 70 years old and still playing in the stratosphere on trumpet. I left there that night wanting to know how to play that high. It only took 30 years to figure out. LOL. How Dennis Haddaway got him to come to W.S. Neal High School, I'll never know.
Another life-changing performance I heard once was the National Symphony Orchestra in Dothan, Alabama. Barry Jekowsky was conducting that night. I guess Leonard Slatkin was sick. This was the first time I ever heard Adagio for Strings by Samuel Barber. I consider this to be the greatest piece of music written by an American. I've played it twice, transcribed for brass ensemble, and it crushed me both times.
About ten years ago, I got to see Blues Traveler at Vinyl Music Hall in Pensacola. If you've never heard John Popper play harmonica, you don't know what harmonica playing is. Ri. Dic. U. Litis.
Twice, I've seen Dave Matthews Band. Both times were in Oak Mountain Amphitheater and both times were spellbinding. I also probably was high from second hand reefer. #InherentRisk.
And this doesn't even cover the concerts I've been blessed to play. I think I played 10 or 11 world premiers while I was at Troy, some by Ralph Ford, some by Robert W. Smith. Playing under Arnald Gabriel made me realize that you best know your music...because Arnald knows it! From memory!
Playing under Ray Cramer taught me that yes, you can wear denim and cowboy boots and still be insanely artistic on the conductors podium. I could go on about Troy, but that will suffice.
When I think back over all that, I'm humbled and grateful. Being an artist is an experience that cannot be described in words. You have to experience it first-hand, and thankfully, I've been able to.
Wow....lots of big-name artists in this post....but my favorite one is Grant.
Have a great day.
In my music appreciation classes, I'm often asked what my favorite music is. That's hard to answer, as it is for all musicians. Sometimes I've been asked what the best performance I've ever seen, or the best concert I've ever been to. Surprisingly, I've been to very few concerts. Here are a few...
While I'm not a huge country music fan, I did hear Brad Paisley at the Grand Ole Opry once. It was the night before Easter Sunday, and he played "I Come to the Garden Alone" and "Old Rugged Cross." It was him, a guitar, a microphone, and spotlight. It was completely over the top, and I've never forgotten it. One person, holding 1000 persons in the palm of his hand. Transfixed. That's what music does.
When I was in 10th grade, I went to hear the legend--Maynard Ferguson. That dude was 70 years old and still playing in the stratosphere on trumpet. I left there that night wanting to know how to play that high. It only took 30 years to figure out. LOL. How Dennis Haddaway got him to come to W.S. Neal High School, I'll never know.
Another life-changing performance I heard once was the National Symphony Orchestra in Dothan, Alabama. Barry Jekowsky was conducting that night. I guess Leonard Slatkin was sick. This was the first time I ever heard Adagio for Strings by Samuel Barber. I consider this to be the greatest piece of music written by an American. I've played it twice, transcribed for brass ensemble, and it crushed me both times.
About ten years ago, I got to see Blues Traveler at Vinyl Music Hall in Pensacola. If you've never heard John Popper play harmonica, you don't know what harmonica playing is. Ri. Dic. U. Litis.
Twice, I've seen Dave Matthews Band. Both times were in Oak Mountain Amphitheater and both times were spellbinding. I also probably was high from second hand reefer. #InherentRisk.
And this doesn't even cover the concerts I've been blessed to play. I think I played 10 or 11 world premiers while I was at Troy, some by Ralph Ford, some by Robert W. Smith. Playing under Arnald Gabriel made me realize that you best know your music...because Arnald knows it! From memory!
Playing under Ray Cramer taught me that yes, you can wear denim and cowboy boots and still be insanely artistic on the conductors podium. I could go on about Troy, but that will suffice.
When I think back over all that, I'm humbled and grateful. Being an artist is an experience that cannot be described in words. You have to experience it first-hand, and thankfully, I've been able to.
Wow....lots of big-name artists in this post....but my favorite one is Grant.
Have a great day.
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