Opera

I never listened to opera music when I was young which is surprising since my mother is a classically trained pianist. We listen to plenty of classical music, and when we were sick, we were allowed to wrap up in a blanket and sit in the living room (which we rarely used) and listen to Peter and the Wolf on the stereo console (which we usually weren’t allowed to touch.) The sick days passed quickly and pleasantly while listening to Peter’s string instruments and Grandfather’s bassoon while the oboe quacked like a duck.

But having children brings new experiences to one’s life, and I have a daughter who loves opera music and has had the opportunity to sing in two operas so far – The Carmen last year, and this year she sang in the La Boheme. And when she is not in the opera, she likes to attend, so we saw Madame Butterfly and La Traviata too. She says that it’s not a real opera unless the heroine dies tragically, which is certainly true of the four operas I’ve seen recently, but the music is beautiful, and the comic relief in La Boheme is quite fun. And to top off the experience, my oldest daughter played violin in the opera orchestra. I may just have to start buying some opera music to listen to the next time we have a sick day!

Suzuki Violin

It’s been a musical weekend! On Saturday, I went with a group of friends to the dress rehearsal of the San Luis Obispo Symphony. The featured violinist was David Kim, a man who I had the pleasure of hearing a couple of years ago. I appreciate the emotion and technique he brings to the pieces he plays, but more than that, I admire the fact that he spends some of his time visiting numerous schools near his home in Philadelphia bringing classical music to children. He is a Christian and a former Suzuki student who gives of himself to benefit others.

On Sunday, I attended (and played piano for) another concert with many Christian Suzuki students who haven’t been playing quite as long as David Kim. The young violinists were students of my daughter, Melissa, who has been investing her life in the lives of young children for over seven years by teaching Suzuki violin lessons. Some of the students were very young and played tiny violins. Others had been playing for several years and were mastering more complex pieces. Parents smiled and snapped photos, and I think that we all knew that more was happening than just songs being played by children. We were watching children grow and blossom. They had been given the gift of music by their parents and teacher, and now they were giving of themselves by sharing their music with us.

Shops, Stores and Balls

I was talking to a friend not long ago, and she said something that I’ve pondered over for the last few weeks. She asked how the Civil War Balls were going, and then she said, “I’m so glad that you are offering the Balls. We haven’t been in a long time, but it’s nice to know they are there in case we want to go sometime.”

Her comment got me thinking about all the local shops and stores that I have liked that have gone out of business recently. Most of them have been places that I have rarely frequented such as a cute antique store in Cambria or a specialty paper store in Atascadero, but I was sorry when they were gone. It made me wonder if, in some small way, I might have helped these shops that I enjoyed stay in business had I frequented them more often. Maybe if I had told my friends how much I enjoyed shopping there and how I always found just what I was looking for, they would have purchased things there too.

I guess what is true for the local shops is true for the Balls as well. If everyone had the attitude that the Balls would continue whether or not they attended them, they would probably find that another activity they enjoyed was no longer available. My hope is that the Balls are valuable enough that people will continue to make the effort to attend and invite their friends because they always find just what they are looking for.