I was invited to attend a concert at the Canadian Embassy, featuring one of Canada’s top classical orchestras. After featuring a master class for an ensemble of chamber music students, an orchestra of violins, violas, cellos, the harpsichord, and two oboes performed selections from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto, and Telemann’s Tafelmusik. The performance brought back memories of my own musical education, when I used to drill trills and arpeggios for hours on my piano after school. It reminded me of how much discipline it takes to practice so much that technique becomes a secondary concern. The real challenge of playing music is to attain the perfect marriage between the composer’s intended style and an altogether unique interpretation of your own as the artist.

Here is what I’ve concluded:
1.Classical music is much more than just listening to a series of notes. It is an experience; an experience which is just as much for the performer as it is for the audience. If anything, I believe that the greatest benefit of music isn’t accrued to the wealthy patrons of the arts; it is for the artists themselves. Moreover, playing in an orchestra is a wonderful allegory for taking part in the great concert of life. Each person offers his own sound, but it becomes a lonely story without accompaniment. There is a time and place for each group of instruments, and together the product is an altogether breathless creation.

2. I’ve decided that the cello is my favorite instrument. While the violin is an extremely virtuosic instrument, meant to be performed for an audience. The cello, however, is notably introspective. Don’t get me wrong, I love the violin and it’s an irreplaceable voice in the orchestra (Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor is my favorite piece of all time!). But the cello is just great. It can be put in the corner and won’t care a hoot that no one notices it, because its languid, adagio notes submerge the cellist in his own world. The violin, however, is like a small yappy dog who is cute but also demands constant attention.

3. The concert experience is all about head-bobbing. I spent two hours watching musicians bob their heads and shake their shoulders as they felt the music in their bones. That’s something you can never get from a cd, or even a dvd. It calls to your soul like a siren on the rocks of the ocean. Like Odysseus, you long to go to the music at all costs, you are mesmerized and put in a trance at each crescendo.