“Opened my ears, eyes, and heart…”

[Excerpted from an email received from a Music and Civil Society participant]

I wanted to write to tell you about the remarkable event that closed my weekend [after attending Music and Civil Society]. I randomly chose Binghmaton, NY as the destination for my Saturday night drive because it lies roughly halfway between Providence and Cleveland. I arrived in a strange town in total darkness and hastily checked into my hotel room. The next morning I packed up and hiked the stairs down to the lobby. I decided to take the time the make a waffle before heading out.

I tend to be slightly wary when approached by strangers, but the central New Yorkers I encountered were so friendly that I soon found myself engaged in breakfast conversation with Johnny, an oil industry worker. As I picked up my viola to leave, he asked about the instrument. I told him it was a viola, explained that it was the alto relative of the soprano-range violin, and popped open the case so he could have a look.  

"Play it!" he said.

I didn't see any reason not to, other than the flimsy excuse that I hadn't played in four days due to travel. I took out my instrument and played the first half of a Bach Sarabande. Johnny begin clapping instantly, and I was surprised to hear that I was being applauded in stereo – one of the hotel workers had come in to listen and was clapping from where she sat behind me. I was taken aback: they were both overjoyed to hear my 30-second sound bite of out-of-shape Bach. I thanked them, bid farewell to Johnny, and moved out into the lobby. 

A middle-aged man was sitting at a computer in the lobby, and as I passed he asked me if I was auditioning for the symphony. I told him that if there was an orchestra with viola openings, I would probably eventually audition there. I learned from our brief conversation that we both hailed from Ohio (Cincinnati) and had ties to Ohio State. I finally went to the hotel counter to check out, and the hotel employee (a girl of about my age) told me that she missed the sound of a stringed instrument. Apparently her sister had played the violin before a falling out with a teacher prompted her to replace the fiddle with the guitar. If I was ever back in town, she said, I should check out the Tri-County Youth Orchestra.

I left feeling amazed that a few spontaneous bars of Bach had served to create connections between me and no fewer than four strangers. These individuals had each appreciated the craft in some way and felt that it had opened the door to conversation. I went from being a cranky breakfast attendee to an artist in thirty seconds flat, and felt like an ambassador for music in the minutes following.

As I rolled out of Binghamton, I couldn't believe how perfectly my breakfast had summed up our weekend's discussions. I believe that society did become more civil for the occupants of that hotel lobby on Sunday morning. I feel fortunate to have participated in a workshop that opened my ears, eyes, and heart to the communicative and empathetic capacities of our art form.

All my best,

Annalisa