transformational entertainment

Sometimes one is reminded, as a professional musician, that the act of making music and presenting it to the public isn’t merely an exercise in entertainment.

Music is entertainment that can often be transformational, regardless of its seriousness of intent.

A great string quartet can give you intimate insight into the greatest works of our greatest compositional masters – but it also can be a heckuva lot of fun!

A pops concert of musical theater favorites can take a stressed out audience member away from the troubles of their day and into a magical world where the guy gets the gal, the villain gets his just desserts, and it all ends happily ever after.

A Mahler symphony can take a person struggling with cancer into a world where someone else feels the same fears of the present and hopes for the future, all tied up in a singular expression of anguish and faith.

A concert of Christmas carols can give people from a small town a reminder of what the season truly means to them, and give the gift of fellowship and beauty in the memory of a thoughtful and musical fellow citizen.

I remember very well last year when my wife and I went to see Cirque du Soleil.  We were both sitting in our seats, mouths agape, clapping with childlike glee at the many unparalleled sights and sounds that we saw for those couple hours.  We were entertained and transformed from world-weary adults to delighted young children, by the power of a singular artistic vision, executed with virtuosity and feeling.

How similar it is to see a great string quartet, or opera company, or the ballet, or the symphony orchestra.  I’m truly blessed to be a musician, and to be able to give a voice (as best I can) to the great works of all composers, and share them with so many audiences each year.