Music was always in our home
- col-lee-elliot-aging-graciously
- October 24, 2024
- 1918
Last week’s philharmonic concert was a delightful departure from the usual. While we mostly see and hear the orchestra as a whole, this time we were given the opportunity to get to know some of its members personally.
The first hour was devoted to showcasing the amazing talents of trumpet player Jeff Huston, violinist Mary Bontrager, French horn player Steven Stroup and cellist Elaine Anderson. If you have ever thought of any of these players as ordinary, you know better now. They were spectacular.
I’ve been involved in instrumental music all my life, so I’m particularly appreciative of double or triple tonguing, smooth vibrato and memorization beyond all belief. It was a joy to see this kind of talent, and I hope we will be introduced to woodwind, percussion and further brass soloists in the future.
What is bothering me is the audience was so small and seemingly has been since COVID. It isn’t just the philharmonic; it is everything I attend. Is it there are too many conflicts in schedules, prices have become too high, or just that people have lost interest in anything that isn’t the newest, loudest or funniest?
I am trying to not be critical of those who think they hate anything classical, whether it be art, writing or music. If they have never been exposed and have been told classical is boring, how can they ever know what they are missing?
In my not-so-humble opinion, the music of the masters is far more complex and far more entertaining and satisfying than a raging rhythm featuring one line screamed throughout the entire song. It is the classical piece that paints pictures in the imagination and encompasses the richest sounds of a whole variety of instruments, not just guitars and drums.
Music was always in our home, and much of it was classical. Mother would say, “Do we want to listen to Mozart or Bach this morning?” We made choices based on what we loved most. Because we grew up with it, hearing it every day, we love and appreciate it. It’s not that we weren’t exposed to every kind of music. We sang a lot of folk, country, ballads and even war songs like “Comin’ in on a Wing and a Prayer.”
If I lived the envious life of being in the same town with all my grands and greats, I would have classical music on whenever they were at my house so they could absorb the beauty of it. Enough of the lecture. You know where I stand. Let the music wrap around your children or, better yet, bring them to a concert.
I have just celebrated my 87th birthday in the middle of a bout of flu or something akin. There are sauerkraut and applesauce waiting to be canned, garden boxes to be cleaned, activities to be attended, and I am missing the beautiful Dover fall weather to cough and cough and cough.
May you all stay healthy and enjoy life right now. Turn on that beautiful music and get out and do.