I'm currently on a plane heading to Santa Clara, California and I've been taken aback by feelings of gratitude for music in my life today. A few months ago I got a Zune 80 GB portable music player. While I could go on talking about the fun I've had playing with my Zune, the real story is in the music. A few days ago I was organizing my collection and ran across a piece called Bye, Bye, Baby by Imant Raminsh recorded by the Vancouver Chamber Choir. I first became acquainted with this piece in 2004 at the National Conductors Symposium in Vancouver B.C. I was one of the symposium participants and I learned so much from Jon Washburn and the amazing Vancouver Chamber Choir. One of the pieces performed in the concert at the end of the week was Bye, Bye, Baby. Well, this morning as I got up early to catch the plane to California, this piece graced my thoughts and I've now heard it running through my head perhaps a hundred times since then.
This replaying of music in my head is not an uncommon occurrence for me. Except for certain times in my life where my non-musical daily demands get in the way, there is rarely a moment in my day that a song, symphony or some other serenade doesn't flow through my head. Perhaps that's why I find that I'm able to memorize music relatively quickly... since my brain is always working on the music even when I'm not rehearsing it. Fortunately, the music that I program and perform in the ensembles I work with all tend to be very inspiring. Thus, I feel like I'm am uplifted each day by music. Take for example the sweet text of the piece going through my head right now:
Bye Bye Bye Youski, Go to sleep my little one
Bye Youski baby Olenka my dear...
Who loves you dearly? Who loves you tenderly?
Always a comfort when trouble is near
It reminds me of something I could sing to my little 10 month old son or any other child. For me, the piece just exudes a feeling of warmth and love. Just as this piece figuratively wraps me in a nice warm blanket that everything is OK, other pieces inspire me to be a better person, to have fun, to deepen my spiritual relationship with God and so much more. Thinking back since about high school some of the most powerful spiritual experiences I've enjoyed in my life have been associated with music. In High School when I first heard and later sang Kenneth Cope's Face to Face I could almost see my Savior Jesus Christ face to face through the music. At the time that piece had more impact on me wanting to be a better pianist than any influence of teacher or parent. I just wanted to be able to perform myself that piece that meant so much to me.
Now, as a conductor I find myself in the role of teacher and music creator far more than I did earlier in life, but wow what a blessing. What a treat to daily enjoy wonderfully beautiful and inspiring poetry in text, but also in rhythms, pitches and timbres to evoke powerful and inspiring feelings. While there are times that I forget the joy that music brings me, I'm grateful for days like today when the music surges through my veins again and brings with it new life to my soul. Happy music making!