A musical professional has so much to give to the
world, and I am reminded that it takes so much to give that much. Yet the rewards for sacrifice made lovingly
and willingly are great. So I offer my
observations as an homage… dedicated to those of you who have engaged in any
form of artistic endeavor, but particularly to those drawn to careers in my
favorite art form, music.
MUSICAL PURSUIT IS SACRIFICIAL IN NATURE
First, in order to create and co-create music for and
with participatory audiences, a commitment of time and energy is required. The sacrificial nature of such a commitment
cannot possibly be understood when it is made.
Whether a musician or musical professional, you have likely known your
vocational dream from a very young age.
Your first instrument was as foreign to you as the violins, pianos,
trombones and clarinets abandoned by so many children were to them… only you
were different. You felt a drive inside
your soul that forced you out of your comfort zone into that place where you
could hear past the bleats and discordant sounds inadvertently caused by every
novice to imagine a perfectly-executed musical piece. Your parents encouraged you at first, but
perhaps as your interest expanded to other instruments, or singing, or even
writing and/or conducting, they may have become wary. “Lessons are really getting expensive – are
you really going to continue?” or “Are
you planning on a career in music, because the cost of your education may never
be redeemed by the income you will potentially earn” may have entered the
picture in your teenage years. And
finally, as you went through college and beyond without succumbing to the lure
of more financially-promising professions, you became that singular phenomenon
that family and friends try to support, but often question. “She is so very gifted, but… she had so much
potential to make a real living in [engineering, medicine, law, even teaching…
or fill in the blank]. And yet your
personal passion, your inner compass, impelled you. Sacrifice became the currency of progress as
you sought that next audition, were rewarded by that next acceptance, and
plodded on toward the further refinement of your talent.
How many people along the way had the courage and vision
to understand the tenacity you had… who would praise your talent for the true
God-given gift it was, and is? How many
saw your sacrifice for its pure unselfishness in the face of a burning desire
to give to your music? How many understood, or understand, that the
world’s measure cannot contain or calibrate the magnitude of what is inside
you… and of what you can bring out in others?
How many loved you, love you enough to see through, to see past, the
sacrifice?
MUSIC IS EXPERIENTIALLY TRANSFORMATIVE
When you take on a musical challenge, either in
creation or in performance, you set out to meet and exceed your own
expectations. The bar you set is high…
as high as the standard of excellence to which you committed all those years
ago when you began following your muse.
You practice, make changes, and practice some more. If performing in concert, you accommodate and
blend with other participants. If
creating, you anticipate audience preferences, write, test, get feedback, make
alterations, test again, and once you engage musicians, begin the process
again. Rehearsals, practice, more
rehearsals, all lead to final adaptions and ultimate performance. At dress rehearsal you look at your
performance piece, then look in the mirror and ask the same question: “Who were you when this process started… and
who are you now?” In fact, after the
performance you could ask of yourself, of your ensemble, and of your
audience
the same question:
“Who were you when this process started… and who are you now?”
And the answer you would expect to any of these
questions would describe a process of change… of transformation. Music transforms us in a way I believe no
other art form can. Whether musician,
creator, audience, or even the performance piece itself, the execution of a
musical composition finds its way inside us and pulls something out that we did
not know was there. Some would name it
rhythm, others would call it soul, and still others would say it’s the breath
of Heaven, or Spirit, or quite simply, the manifestation of God. However we speak of it, we are better for it
and nothing is better without it. We are
inhabitants of a planet whose various cultures and societies seem always to be
seeking progress, or positive change.
And to find the inner strength and character to effect change, we need
to be transformed. Perhaps that is why
music is called the Universal Language.
MUSICAL EXCELLENCE IS REDEMPTIVE
As a musician, you have recognized that you are
measured by your ability to redeem your vocational choice. As mentioned earlier, having gone through
college and beyond without succumbing to the lure of more financially-promising
professions, you have become that singular phenomenon that family and friends
try to support, but often question.
Yet after commitment, sacrifice, and practice, you have
been transformed. Your co-creators and
ensemble members have been transformed.
Your audience participants have been transformed. If they are open-minded enough, even the doubting
Thomases among your family members have been transformed. And having planted your flag of excellence
signifying that you alone have achieved that goal, you have been redeemed. Awash with gratitude and humility for the
inner strength and outer support that propelled you here, you feel the
redemptive nature of musical excellence.
But the redeeming nature of musical excellence does not
stop with the performer, nor with the performance. It redeems the loved one who lived to see the
musician indemnify herself. It redeems
the audience participant whose personal baggage is transported away as if by
magic, and replaced by an artistically-inspired peace and joy that music brings. The notes of the score fly off the page into
the heart, first providing emotional release, then the catharsis born of perspective
from an elevated vantage point. We are
redeemed by lyrics that resonate, and by performers whose talent draws us in
and lets our spirit soar.
“There
is a music in human life that echoes the great, redemptive power of God - the
power to transpose the minor key into the major key, the negative into the
positive, the blues into swing - the power to bring joy out of sorrow, healing
out of brokenness, glory out of suffering, life out of death.”
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Rev Tom Cuthell, August 2007
“Life's
Music Is The Redemptive Power Of God”
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