Listen and Wait

I've been very busy for a couple of weeks so I apologize for not posting anything. Many changes are happening for me at work and I'm taking a graduate class so things have not been terribly settled. Meanwhile Martin Luther King Day and the Inauguration of the new President have been monopolizing the headlines.

This Sunday the St. Luke Choir did an anthem this morning that consisted of the men singing the faith song "I Believe" while the women sang the Bach-Gounod "Ave Maria." This was termed a "Quodlibet" which is a piece of music combining more than one melody (think "Lida Rose" and "Dream Of Now" from the Music Man.) We did not do a bad job of it, and it was glorious to hear our soprano sub Kristen on the high note at the end, but there was a noticeable spot in the middle where we didn't hear each other and we consequently lost our place for about a bar or so.

Okay, so there's a lesson there......no matter how well you think you know what you are doing, it pays to listen and pay attention. If you are not in synch with what the other folks you are collaborating with are doing, nobody gets anywhere. It's hard to listen and adjust to someone else; I find it a huge challenge to be patient and wait for others. (just ask my husband about getting ready to go to the gym in the mornings). Especially in a choir, it's not a race to see who gets to the end of the piece first (that would be interesting though) but a work done together, "in concert." One of the most important skills in music performance--and life--is to be able to listen to what others are doing and adjust how you fit into it.

We saw Obama do a little of this during the oath of office gaffe where Chief Justice Roberts reversed the word order, moving the adverb "faithfully" modifying the verb "to execute" to the end of the sentence instead of with the verb. I don't think he wanted to, but I think he ended up saying it Roberts' way. How much more gracious is that than saying "I'm sorry, you've got it wrong. Start over."

I enjoy attending live community theater productions, and if possible I always try to make it to a show on opening night. I think that the performance is more electric and fresher the first time with an audience, when the players are just learning how the pieces fit together and the whole work is perceived. Collaborating in artistic ventures is the joy of it for the performers and a very large part of the appreciation by the audience.

So it's a beautiful day to listen and wait and see what happens......