Music matters
Sorry for the spotty blogging - it's been a busy month for me, finishing up our Inside the Classics concerts for the season, and I'm now in the midst of a two week span in 5 cities conducting 8 performances of 5 different programs (plus a recording!). It's enough to make the mind reel.
Speaking of reels, I've just returned from a St. Patrick's Day concert in Montpelier with the Vermont Symphony Orchestra (full of Irish reels. And Elgar.) The VSO presents an annual program at Statehouse House Chambers in Montpelier as part of a series of mid-week events at the Statehouse called Farmers' Night (a holdover from the days when state legislators were mostly farmers, many of whom didn't want to take the long journey home after a session at the Statehouse and devised some entertainment for themselves when they stayed in town.)
Now, there's a lot to be said about garnering rave review at Carnegie - and don't get me wrong, leaving a calling card like that in the musical capital of this country is a tremendous achievement (and I sure am proud of my home band).
But tonight, playing in the Vermont Statehouse, I was reminded that the heart of our work as musicians lies not in the accolades of big-city critics, but the delight and devotion of the people we serve.
By the time the doors opened at 6:45 pm for the 7:30 pm concert, hundreds of people were milling about in the entrance hall, and seats were filled long before the concert started. And after an hour of Grainger, Holst, Elgar and the lot, the entire audience stood in ovation. As I was leaving the building some minutes later, a family in classic Vermont wear (fleece pullovers and jeans) piled out of the door, thanking me for the concert.
I asked if they lived in Montpelier, and they said, no, they ran a small organic dairy near Danville, nearly 40 miles away. What a commute for a concert! I remarked. The father looked at me quizzically.
No, we don't think of it that way, he said. Music matters.
Good stuff.
Speaking of reels, I've just returned from a St. Patrick's Day concert in Montpelier with the Vermont Symphony Orchestra (full of Irish reels. And Elgar.) The VSO presents an annual program at Statehouse House Chambers in Montpelier as part of a series of mid-week events at the Statehouse called Farmers' Night (a holdover from the days when state legislators were mostly farmers, many of whom didn't want to take the long journey home after a session at the Statehouse and devised some entertainment for themselves when they stayed in town.)
Now, there's a lot to be said about garnering rave review at Carnegie - and don't get me wrong, leaving a calling card like that in the musical capital of this country is a tremendous achievement (and I sure am proud of my home band).
But tonight, playing in the Vermont Statehouse, I was reminded that the heart of our work as musicians lies not in the accolades of big-city critics, but the delight and devotion of the people we serve.
By the time the doors opened at 6:45 pm for the 7:30 pm concert, hundreds of people were milling about in the entrance hall, and seats were filled long before the concert started. And after an hour of Grainger, Holst, Elgar and the lot, the entire audience stood in ovation. As I was leaving the building some minutes later, a family in classic Vermont wear (fleece pullovers and jeans) piled out of the door, thanking me for the concert.
I asked if they lived in Montpelier, and they said, no, they ran a small organic dairy near Danville, nearly 40 miles away. What a commute for a concert! I remarked. The father looked at me quizzically.
No, we don't think of it that way, he said. Music matters.
Good stuff.
posted by Sarah at
10:18 PM
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