Violins, Stars, and Laughter: A Great Night!

Oh, the wondrous and exquisite sounds of a violin solo! I went to see violinist Gil Shaham perform with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra. It was a night my soul will not forget! I felt refreshed by the quality of the performances. Over time, I have come to love classical music, something I was not exposed to as a child.

I had seen Mr. Shaham play in Atlanta more than twenty-five years ago. He was fabulous then, and his God-given skills have just improved over time. He played Alban Berg’s Concerto for Violin and Orchestra.

It was a passionate piece of music, and every emotion showed on Shaham’s face as he played a Stradivarius made in 1699! It was the high notes that touched my soul, as I closed my eyes and rode the crest from one wave of sweetness to the next one. Interestingly, the composer died within months of completing the score, never getting to hear it played. What a shame!

What was so incredible was Shaham’s lack of sheet music! As we feasted on this gift from God, the young teen girl sitting next to me said aloud what I was thinking, “It’s like the music comes out of his body!”

We both admired that Shaham could “multitask,” meaning remember the music while playing and plucking, coming in right on cue with the orchestra. I told her that I have trouble eating and sitting at the same time, which earned me the cutest giggle. She laughed again when I told her that both Shaham and me had went completely grey-headed since I last witnessed him play.

During the intermission, I met her mother, Crystal, and we talked. She told me that she had given up a dream to be an orchestra conductor when she chose marriage rather than a career playing the flute.

I admired her resolve that she had made the right choice. Her son is usually her “symphony buddy.” We discussed traveling, raising children, and the worth and value of music for children of all social classes. Yeah, I can cover a lot in 20 minutes with an equally loquacious person!

Finally, as the last piece played, pictures of space captured by the Hubble Telescope were shown overhead on a screen! Oh, the beauty of the stars and so many! Having lived in cities all of my life, I had never seen such a multitude of stars. I wanted to travel out to the desert, lay down on my back, and just get lost in the vastness of the cosmos.

How small we are! How inane sometimes are our thoughts about other people and their beliefs about us. It was timely for me, for I had a scratch in my throat during the last score, and I tried everything not to cough or make noise, because I was one of only three black persons I saw there.

I was afraid that people would think that we did not belong if I became a distraction. It bordered on madness! Around the time I thought my heart was going to explode, I said to myself, “Stop thinking about being black!” Then, I coughed and felt so much better! Catastrophe averted!

Music connects us mainly because the Spirit that lives in us has no color, social class, gender/sex, or national origin limitations. I understand the psalmist call in Psalm 150:3-6, “Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, praise him with timbrel and dancing, praise him with the strings and pipe, praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.”

As we filed out of the symphony hall, there were smiles of appreciation on people’s faces and folks smiled at each other and at me. I believe every soul was touched by the music, and we are the better for it!

Written for the Three Things Challenge by the Haunted Wordsmith: feasted, minds, grown. Fandango prompt is Inane. Ragtag prompt is Timely. Daily Addictions prompt is Border. Word of the Day Challenge is Exquisite.Your Daily Prompt is Lost.