Why Classical Music is my Calling & Evening with Camarada
I am at the dentist chair, white clouds on a blue-blue sky are floating in and out my view from an art-deco window, classical music pours into the room, I close my eyes, avoiding to see what instruments are going in & out my mouth, and in a little bit the dentist stops his labor, I open my eyes, he raises his head, looks out of the window and says: "I am lucky I like classical music."
I found that spontaneous remark profound and since that May Monday years ago I have been going around life by the same testimony: I feel lucky to love, adore, devour classical music which I do since the elementary school and its superb musical education. And I will not stay with just loving that "long hair music", I love to push it on others!!
Just like the second Saturday of April 2017. I Arranged for a cozy green theatre in Point Loma, booked the finest musicians, an ensemble Camarada with an excellent program, I called a unique wonderful artist, painter Stefan Talian to offer feast to our eyes and soul, baked Czech pastry, fetched select wine and beer, asked my beautiful friends to help make everyone feel special, and invited anyone who may be interested for a chamber music evening. Then, I was waiting...and yes, the theatre burst with happy life of a handsome, friendly, outgoing crowd of over sixty people who became an appreciative audience for a unique treat of classical music. There is not enough opportunities to enjoy chamber music and I would like to fill that desire for my part of town!
The goal of the evening was to present, through the spectrum of classical music, a vivid picture of our history. The featured musical pieces (all close to my heart as there were five Czech and two Hungarian composers) were accompanied by short narrative introducing the ontology of the pieces, snippets of stories from the composers' life, their philosophies, sliver of the era from which the work stems.... Art can reveal in the most revealing way the colorful flow of our history; showing who we are, where we come from and where we may headed.
I enjoyed every piece of music wonderfully presented by the fine musicians of Camarada. Their musicality, the way they "feel" the music, the passion and utmost skill with which they performed was inspiring. I love lofty emotions and enjoy to observe my own, teased by classical music, ballooning in me, slowly awaking every cell of mine by shaking it, squeezing, rattling, jiggling, bouncing, making them full aware of beautiful life of its own — my soul on a parade of joy!
Pythagoras, the father of music theory and harmony, assured us how music adjusts our soul. He believed that music cures dis-ease. He did not know yet of neurotransmitters as dopamine, but he understood well the benefits music has on our brain. If he could not proof yet the mysteries of neuroscience, he did prove to us the incredible intellectual benefit music has: Music means numbers (intervals), numbers in time, just like arithmetics (numbers itself), geometry (numbers in space) and astronomy (numbers in time and space). Thus, music was coupled in the Seven Liberal Arts, the blueprint of any university, in the quadrivium with the mentioned arithmetics, geometry and astronomy. (Trivium consisted of grammar, rherorics and logic.)
The benefit on academic and thus intellectual growth of anyone exposed to music, even without making music, has been proven many many times.
I am not a politician that can make decision to bring music back to school. I am not a wealthy person who can pay for musical education, but I am a person who knows of the music power and I am determined to spread music beauty to any corner of the world that allows me. Join me in my effort in any way and visit my chamber music series! Look out for our summer and fall concerts!
My thanks and gratitude to Dottie Laub, Vera Dolansky, House of Czechs & Slovaks.
CAMARADA:
Beth Ross Buckley flute, artistic director
Sarah Skuster - oboe
Joana Morrison Pernela - cello
Dana Burnett - piano
FINE ART: Stefan Talian www.stefantalian.com You will see Stefan's painting and will rejoice!!