Eager for them to begin playing, Clarissa closed her eyes and held her breath.
The first time she’d been to a symphony was when she was 5 years old. She remembered it like it was yesterday. A Christmas Symphony. The music was magical. There were Christmas carols she knew from church and classical music; in her teen years, music from the movies. As a 5 year old, she didn’t know the names of the pieces of music but it didn’t matter. She went on with her young life, begging her parents every year to take her to the Symphony. In high school she joined the marching band, learning to play the trombone and finally learning those names of the music she loved. After school she took violin lessons. Her goal was to be a member of a symphony orchestra and play the Christmas music she had heard as a child. Whether it was in the brass section or the string section, it didn’t matter. She only knew she wanted to be part of that wonderful music. Now in her 80’s, arthritis crippling her hands, she could no longer play, but there was nothing wrong with her hearing.
When the music rose in one grand layered melody from the orchestra, she opened her eyes and breathed in the magnificence that she loved.
“A symphony must be like the world. It must contain everything.”
~ Gustav Mahler
No comments:
Post a Comment