Love is a Song
Love is a song that never ends
Life may be swift and fleeting
Hope may die, yet love's beautiful music
Comes each day like the dawn
Love is a song that never ends
One simple theme repeating
Like the voice of a heavenly choir
Love's sweet music flows on
Like the voice of a heavenly choir
Love's sweet music flows on
Bambi
What started as a simple idea of sharing music with hospital staff and patients has been blooming into a shared vision that is bigger than I could have imagined. From its inception I have been blown away by how many people have contributed to this project with ideas, shared experiences, and expertise. It started with a doctor at Saint Peter’s University Hospital sharing his experiences of working at the hospital during the pandemic, then journalists picked up the story and spread the word; it grew as a Havard Medical student suggested the name of the project, Spirt of Harmony, expanded as mentors began helping me plan the repertoire, and continues to broaden as so many of you send in suggestions. The staff at Saint Peter’s University Hospital have been incredible in facilitating two mini concerts a week and are even helping me start a concert series for the Pediatric ward. A huge thank you to everybody! I played my first recital for a Mikaela* in Indiana on Tuesday and I’ll be playing my first recital for Saint Peter’s University Hospital tomorrow.
I have been very careful to choose short repertoire selections to account for the limited amount of time that staff and patients often have. Now is not the time for long sonatas, flashy etudes, or technical fireworks. It has been a refreshing change from a career focused on learning the next challenging work as quickly as possible for the next competition, audition, or exam. Now I am focused on finding calming and uplifting music that is both easy yet interesting to listen to regardless of the listener’s state of health. It also reinforces my previous belief that a technically easy or popular piece of music often holds challenging beautiful emotions within.
A candid shot of a warm-up session focusing on arm and finger weight. Most of my ideas come while I’m meditating during a practice session.
The first hospital recital is based around Bach, Brahms, Grieg, MacDowell, Alexander, and a few Disney classics. such as Love is a Song.
On Tuesday, I played my first mini recital From Anna to You for Mikaela*, a warrior of Mitochondrial disease, who was admitted to a Indianapolis hospital waiting for Covid-19 test results. An avid Disney fan, Mikaela can no longer verbally speak and so I spent Monday evening, (or rather should I say Tuesday morning at 1:30 AM) learning some basic American Sign Language phrases so I could join her world for a bit. I asked Mikaela permission to mention her name on this blog because she has inspired me to continue learning ASL and I will be signing during my hospital performances as well.
While it was emotionally difficult to see another human being in obvious pain and suffering I was thrilled to see her begin to smile after I began to play and smile even more when I pulled out a big book of Disney songs to share with her. I have decided to share a large range of music from Bach, to pop music, Disney, contemporary jazz, and everything in between so that there will be something for everybody. I’m basing each recital set around one larger piece of classical music and surrounding it with complimentary shorter pieces from different genres. This project isn’t about me, what repertoire I can or can’t play, or about perfectly executing every piece; it’s about finding common ground with my listeners and sharing the music that fills them with hope and happiness. I will be taking requests from patients for future concerts and I’ve received my first request from Lee* to play the Blue Danube. I am also quickly expanding my repertoire and exploring some favorites I’ve never had ‘time’ to look over.
As of late, I have been practicing much differently since I am focusing on filling a virtual space over a live stream. Passages that I might have played quickly in the past have been spaced out to account for any audio lag and my Forte passages have been broadened to create a sense of filled space instead of just loud space that could cause audio distortion. I realize I am thinking about transmitting sound in the same way that I think about acoustics and balance while I am in a concert hall. I am also so relieved to be playing with music and without formal concert attire allowing me to just focus on what music I want to share.
The most resounding message I am learning during this project is that performing is not about me. Performing is about sharing meaningful time, space, and an intentional message of shared hope and beauty with an audience. My entire life has been dedicated to learning music but this is one of the first times I have truly felt fulfilled by a project in a meaningful and purposeful way. I am reminding myself to breathe deeply during my performance for Saint Peter’s University Hospital tomorrow so we can all just take a breath together.
*First names used with permission