Thanks to a dear friend, Nathan and I went to the symphony this afternoon, and heard Camille Saint-Saens' Symphony No. 3, the "Organ" symphony.
I learned the piece in college, under the baton of my first orchestra director (a very special man to me and my family). Nathan heard the work for the first time today. It was rewarding to share it with him, and see him fall in love with it.
The conductor, Mei-Ann Chen, was really a pleasure to watch. She conducted for the sake of the orchestra, not the audience (in other words, not a show-woman), but it was our benefit to watch her. She was clear, very interpretive, and passionate about what she was doing. And the orchestra was right with her. The collaboration was intensely powerful.
This is what we do it all for. The hours of practice, the tears and cheers--it's all for this. No--not for a symphony job (a different topic altogether!), but for the passion of it. Whether in symphonic form, chamber music (my preference), solo work or education, it is the passion which is the end game. Technique without passion is meaningless. (Conversely, passion without technique isn't so pleasant. . .) Life must have passion, and one's heart's work must utter forth from the very fiber of one's being.
Whatever your avocation is, search out the passion in it, and foster it. When you share your passion, the entire world is enriched. Thank you to those of you who shared your passion with us today, and made our worlds come alive!
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