April 2014

Play like there is no tomorrow

I just discovered that a dear friend of mine passed away today. He was only a year or two older than I am.

Skip was the artistic director of the HGP band, local music teacher and all-round amazing guy. I had the privilege of playing with him on several occasions on stage and in the pit.

The way he lived his life reminds me that life is way too short. If you are going to make something of it, now is the time to do it. You have to play like there is no tomorrow because it can be cut short at any time.

Rest in peace my friend.

3 replies

Elegie

About seven years ago I performed this elegie. It was my first public performance as an adult, and one that still breaks my heart to this day.

I had about a month to prepare. After much thought, this was the one I chose, but I had limited it to just the beginning of the piece. I knew I couldn't play it in its entirety, but it was appropriate given the circumstance.

Why the Vieuxtemps? Well, it tells a story of love, life and all its tribulations. The two voices traverse the range of experiences and emotions one would see in a long life filled with both joy and sorrow. Of all the pieces that I considered, this was the one that spoke best of my grandfather's life. This was the one to be played at his funeral.

Now, seven years later, I feel that I can finally (and literally) turn the page to finish playing his elegie.

Once that page is turned, your eyes are immediately turned to what is to come at the end. It is a daunting series of notes for an amatueur, let alone trying to figure out how to go about phrasing something like this.

None the less, this is what I'm setting out to do. It is about time that I finish what I started seven years ago.

6 replies