So I'm only two holidays behind. My excuse is that working has been stressful for me, but I'm happy to be writing.
I attended the BYU Idaho Symphony Halloween concert on Oct. 29, 2007. This is a 24 year tradition (the same age as me) but this one was special because it was Kevin Call (as the Count) and Kendell Nielsen (as Igor), the directors, final one.
Usually the Halloween concert is a lot of silliness, slapstick, and good classical music. And this year the usual silliness was augmented by videos of past Halloween concerts (it was fun to remember.) But who would have ever guessed that this one, the first one I didn't played in after six years would be quite inspiring to me and give me a message to think about for the next two months, and longer.
They had LaMar Barrus (as death), former BYU-I symphony conductor, play one of my favorite pieces, "Danse Macabre" by Saint-Saens on his violin. The title means "dance of death," and at the risk of sounding morbid that's what I've been thinking about: death.
I once read that there are only three fears at all in anyone's life, any other fears can be attributed to these. One of those, and the most major is the fear of death. I also have noticed in my own life the fears I have of change. I admit with this being my first non-Halloween concert year I may have been looking a little too hard for this message and it may be a stretch.
The overall programming of the concert was that this would be the Count's final time to come out of his coffin to direct this Idaho symphony, and when the clock struck midnight Death would come and take him.
After Bro. Barrus played "Danse Macabre" Bro. Call left the stage and Bro. Barrus had the opportunity to conduct the symphony in a piece by J.S. Bach called "Come Sweet Death." The title alone began to change my perspective, and the piece really spoke to me.
I realized in terms of change, we are given more opportunities. Bro. Barrus is still conducting the Rexburg community orchestra, and had this chance to conduct the BYU-I symphony again. And I began to think during that piece that change and death are not loss, but gain and new opportunity.
It also saw this as David Peck sang the "Earl King" by Schubert and the people in front of me gasped when he ended the song with "the boy was dead." Although I understand the shock when you don't know its coming, I actually really like this song and feel it has value in helping people deal with death.
It was all tied up for me when at the closing chimes of midnight as Bro. Barrus came to take Bro. call from the stage at the end of the concert he exited with a calm demeanor and acceptance. It made me feel that is how I would like to be able to face death eventually. And that I really could believe that's how accepting Bro. Call is of this change. And it helped me to change my perspective about being graduated and the many changes that I'm experiencing.
This was all brought to mind again as I read this article in the Deseret News yesterday about Jenny Oaks Baker. I've had a lot of respect for her since I met her as my chamber coach at Suzuki camp and BYU summer music festival. And this is another example of change being a gain.
Now lest anyone take this the wrong way I am in no way an advocate of death, but of accepting, trusting, and knowing that our Heavenly Father knows what is best and where he needs us, and what we need at each point in our lives.
P.S. To all those of you who were at the actual reunion concert on the 26th, I'm sorry I missed you. And to those of you who played in the Mahler #3 concert I'm very sorry I missed it, my family said it was awesome. But I'll be playing Mahler #5 in March :)
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Life is constantly changing
Warning: this is definitely the post of a music nerd. Future posts may not be so musically saturated.
Since this is my first post, I'll say a little on my current title, "Life is a Symphony." When you play in a symphony someone else wrote it, and someone else is conducting it. You don't have a whole lot of control. You're job is to play what you're given to the very best of your ability and as much in sync with those around you as you possibly can. And trust that those around you are doing the best they can. That's what makes the whole thing come together to make a beautiful piece of music.
Comparing this to life, I believe we definitely have a Heavenly Father giving us the music to play, or the experiences to live, and bringing the people into our lives that we are supposed to play, work, and learn with.
It's just a matter of trusting the composer and conductor. I'm lucky to have had good experiences with people in both of these fields in my life. It's also amazing how after you play a piece of music you somehow feel closer to whoever wrote it, even if they've been dead for over 200 years. I think if we really trust that our life has a plan just like we trust that the music in front of us is part of a greater whole, then we can be closer to God.
I've been feeling lately like life is constantly changing, and I suppose it is. But if we compare life to a symphony; the first time I play through a symphony it sometimes seems that the music is coming from nowhere. I don't really know what to expect, and it can sometimes seem random. But after playing a symphony, or listening to it countless times you could start it in the middle, then pause it and I would be able to tell you exactly where it's going. And the more music you know the more likely you are to understand where a piece is going on your first listening. But then the differences of the piece become exciting instead of confusing or frustrating.
We really are on our first time through life. The trick is to look for patterns and anticipate the unexpected turns instead of resisting them.
This is mostly a lecture to myself since my life seems pretty much out of control. DH and I just graduated from college, he's looking for a job and I'm working part time, and just applied for a new full time job that I think would be awesome. But all of this change is scaring me, especially since I have no idea where it will all end up. I guess it's all about trust, that there is a plan for us.
Since this is my first post, I'll say a little on my current title, "Life is a Symphony." When you play in a symphony someone else wrote it, and someone else is conducting it. You don't have a whole lot of control. You're job is to play what you're given to the very best of your ability and as much in sync with those around you as you possibly can. And trust that those around you are doing the best they can. That's what makes the whole thing come together to make a beautiful piece of music.
Comparing this to life, I believe we definitely have a Heavenly Father giving us the music to play, or the experiences to live, and bringing the people into our lives that we are supposed to play, work, and learn with.
It's just a matter of trusting the composer and conductor. I'm lucky to have had good experiences with people in both of these fields in my life. It's also amazing how after you play a piece of music you somehow feel closer to whoever wrote it, even if they've been dead for over 200 years. I think if we really trust that our life has a plan just like we trust that the music in front of us is part of a greater whole, then we can be closer to God.
I've been feeling lately like life is constantly changing, and I suppose it is. But if we compare life to a symphony; the first time I play through a symphony it sometimes seems that the music is coming from nowhere. I don't really know what to expect, and it can sometimes seem random. But after playing a symphony, or listening to it countless times you could start it in the middle, then pause it and I would be able to tell you exactly where it's going. And the more music you know the more likely you are to understand where a piece is going on your first listening. But then the differences of the piece become exciting instead of confusing or frustrating.
We really are on our first time through life. The trick is to look for patterns and anticipate the unexpected turns instead of resisting them.
This is mostly a lecture to myself since my life seems pretty much out of control. DH and I just graduated from college, he's looking for a job and I'm working part time, and just applied for a new full time job that I think would be awesome. But all of this change is scaring me, especially since I have no idea where it will all end up. I guess it's all about trust, that there is a plan for us.
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