Recently we went to hear the Virginia Symphony conducted by JoAnn Falletta in our new Sandler Performing Arts Center here in Virginia Beach.
What struck me as I was watching and listening to the music was the variety of the instruments, all playing together in harmony, creating such amazing sound pictures, even thought there were so many different types of instruments with various ranges, tones and timbres.
I thought of the difference between the onstage tune-up music before the concert, with each musician playing their own parts of the concert piece to warm up, but all doing their own thing with no conductor. What a cacophony of sounds! And how very different it was when the conductor first lifts his/her baton and coaxes the beautiful, orderly melodies and harmonies out of the individual instruments in the proper order!
It brought to my mind the thought of how we need to listen to the Conductor of the music of the universe in order to determine the part we need to play and when to play it. We all have different talents and different “instruments” on which to play our tune of life. But we need to play our best even though we may think our part is insignificant or doesn’t stand out to be heard as much as a soloist or the first violinist.
Think for a minute how hollow the sounds of the orchestra would be without a harp or keyboard, the deep throaty sounds of the oboe or tenor sax, the highs of a flute or piccolo; and of course, the drama of percussion, the steady beat of the drums or other tempo-keepers, or the strains from the strings to raise your spirits.
The conductor brings together all different types of instruments into beautiful harmony. This is just like God, who brings us all together for the special part he has for us to play in the song of life.
He has chosen different parts for all of us. Some will never or rarely have a key solo part, but need to provide that steady and dependable basic support with drums or percussion, or enhancement to help accent or bring out other key solo parts. Others bring added drama at the right time for emphasis. Still others bring harmony, running right below or above main melody, making the music more beautiful with the interplay of harmonics. All of us can’t have center stage parts.
If we only hear everyone playing their own thing together, it sounds cacophonous. And the sounds of individ
ual players bring a weak uninteresting sound. But put altogether, it brings to life amazing and beautiful, expressive, bold, dramatic, moving, touching music to thrill our souls and totally inspire us in some great way!
Let us remember that we can do mighty things when all of us are working together and fulfilling the part we were put here to play! But we need a Conductor who sees the big picture to tell us when our tunes or technique needs to be adjusted to the perfect pitch and tempo to play the most inspiring music!
What struck me as I was watching and listening to the music was the variety of the instruments, all playing together in harmony, creating such amazing sound pictures, even thought there were so many different types of instruments with various ranges, tones and timbres.
I thought of the difference between the onstage tune-up music before the concert, with each musician playing their own parts of the concert piece to warm up, but all doing their own thing with no conductor. What a cacophony of sounds! And how very different it was when the conductor first lifts his/her baton and coaxes the beautiful, orderly melodies and harmonies out of the individual instruments in the proper order!
It brought to my mind the thought of how we need to listen to the Conductor of the music of the universe in order to determine the part we need to play and when to play it. We all have different talents and different “instruments” on which to play our tune of life. But we need to play our best even though we may think our part is insignificant or doesn’t stand out to be heard as much as a soloist or the first violinist.
Think for a minute how hollow the sounds of the orchestra would be without a harp or keyboard, the deep throaty sounds of the oboe or tenor sax, the highs of a flute or piccolo; and of course, the drama of percussion, the steady beat of the drums or other tempo-keepers, or the strains from the strings to raise your spirits.
The conductor brings together all different types of instruments into beautiful harmony. This is just like God, who brings us all together for the special part he has for us to play in the song of life.
He has chosen different parts for all of us. Some will never or rarely have a key solo part, but need to provide that steady and dependable basic support with drums or percussion, or enhancement to help accent or bring out other key solo parts. Others bring added drama at the right time for emphasis. Still others bring harmony, running right below or above main melody, making the music more beautiful with the interplay of harmonics. All of us can’t have center stage parts.
If we only hear everyone playing their own thing together, it sounds cacophonous. And the sounds of individ
ual players bring a weak uninteresting sound. But put altogether, it brings to life amazing and beautiful, expressive, bold, dramatic, moving, touching music to thrill our souls and totally inspire us in some great way!Let us remember that we can do mighty things when all of us are working together and fulfilling the part we were put here to play! But we need a Conductor who sees the big picture to tell us when our tunes or technique needs to be adjusted to the perfect pitch and tempo to play the most inspiring music!
For more info on our symphony and conductor, visit: http://www.joannfalletta.com/ and http://www.virginiasymphony.org/.
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