January 2011 Archives

                I attended the Flying Forms Baroque Chamber Ensemble on January 30^th 2011. It consisted of three musicians who were playing Baroque period instruments and music selections. These musicians are world-renown and have performed all over the world. They all come from different backgrounds of music, but all have the same love of music. They performed different styles of music including Italian and French, but also played on different instruments; those included violin, harpsichord, cello and viola da gamba.

                Flying Forms was founded by Marc Levine (violin) and Tami Morse (harpsichord), but at this performance at Concordia, they had a guest musician, Tulio Rondon (cello and viola da gamba).

                Flying Forms has collaborated with a variety of programs including musicologists, baroque dancers and other musicians. In this season they are performing at many venues including Southampton Cultural Center in New York, Islip Arts Council and the Schubert Club. They received an Arts Learning grant which allows them to present lectures, recitals, hands-on workshops, and provide opportunities for students from sever Minnesota high schools and the St. Paul Conservatory of Music to perform alongside them.

                I can sort of connect this experience to my own experience in musical groups. From 7^th grade to 12^th grade I played the bassoon, but I also played the clarinet, recorder, and harmonica for short amounts of time.  In that time, I learned a lot about music, the styles, periods, conventions, rhythms, dynamic etc. So it was great to read the program and understand all of the terms in it.       

                Music is an education all by itself; one can learn a lot just by listening. Music is an incredible thing. It can tell stories sometimes better than words can. However, what I find fascinating is the emotion that can be heard and felt through motion. It's incredible to be able to hear anger, joy or sadness.

This experience was very intriguing for me. In high school I enjoyed being in band and orchestra but never really had true passion for it. So watching musicians like these people is incredible to me. You can see the passion in the way they play, and see how the music speaks to them. I was never one to move a lot while I was performing, but that probably in part because I had a reed in my mouth, but I always enjoy watching musicians move while they play because I can see that they are enjoying their music, not just going through the motions.  Whenever I go to concerts like this, it makes me wish that I had practiced my own instrument more, I pretty much coaster through band and orchestra, doing as little practicing as possible, but looking back, I wish I had put a bit more effort into it.

I also enjoyed listening to the different instruments they used. I had never seen a harpsichord or a viola da gamba before, so I was very interested in their sound. I know I have heard them both before, but it was neat to watch people play them.  

Three Cups of Tea was a very interesting book for me. Although, I admit, I had a really hard time getting interested in it at first. I found it to be very slow moving. As I continued to read on, I realized how remarkable Greg Mortenson and his work is. I was amazed with Mortenson's dedication and the amount of work he put into getting his dream started.

This book opened my eyes to the problems in Pakistan and Afghanistan. I was blessed to be born into a privilege family. Obviously my entire life wasn't always easy, there were times when my family was hurting for money; where my mom had to buy a month or so worth of groceries with $50. And even though that was tough, my experience is nowhere near what people are going through today around the world. I was amazed to read about the people that Mortenson worked with, especially the people in Korphe. This village took Mortenson in and took care of him in his greatest time of need; even though he was just a weary traveler. The kindness and concern that the people showed him, not only in Korphe, but in many of the other villages too, was incredible. Unfortunately, I think that actions like this are sometimes few and far between. People are sometimes afraid to help others out, myself included. I catch myself not doing a good deed, even though I know I should, because I am scared of the consequences. Like helping someone change a tire, I am afraid of getting kidnapped or murdered if I stop on the side of the road with a stranger. I think that it is things like that prevent people from doing a good deed. So to read about someone like Mortenson, who is going into a fairly dangerous part of the world to educate children is an inspiration to me.

There were certain passages that stood out to me, mostly in the second half of the book after 9-11 happened. I think these were more significant to me because I remember 9-11 and can relate better to the experiences they are describing. Especially since a good portion of the book takes place in the 1990's, and I was a very young child. These sections hit me hard because I realized just how many people in the Middle East do not support what happen to us on 9-11. I was in fourth grade when 9-11 occurred, so I did not understand everything about the Taliban and Osama Bin Laden. However, I have always known that not all Muslims were supportive of that, I was taught not to judge entire races by the actions of some, but it was still hard to comprehend that. To this day I try hard to defend this exact notion. Yet, it was still so neat to read the supportive words of the Pakistan people that Mortenson encountered.  I do not think that I could find nearly enough words to describe how much I enjoyed these parts of the book, so I will let the words speak for themselves.

1.       The first is a speech that was given by Syed Abbas, at the opening of the Kuardu school. Excerpts from that speech: (all found on page 257)

a.       "We share in sorrow as people weep and suffer in America today..."

b.      "All of you, my brethren: Protect and embrace these two American brothers in our midst. Let no harm come to them."

c.       "I request America to look into our hearts, and see that the great majority of us are not terrorist, but good and simple people."

2.       The second comes from the time that Mortenson received an overwhelming amount of positive letters about his efforts in Pakistan.  

a.       " What really humbled me was how the response came from all sorts of people, from church groups, Muslims, Hindus, and Jews, I got letters of support from a lesbian political organization in Marin County, a Baptist youth group in Alabama, a general in the U.S Air Force and just about every other kind of group you can imagine" (302)

3.       The final passage that I tagged was not in support of 9-11, but rather a perspective of the retaliation and actions of the US government. It was neat for me to read this opinion, and I found myself agreeing with it.

a.       "Your President Bush has done a wonderful job of uniting one billion Muslims against America for the next two hundred years...Osama is not a product of Pakistan or Afghanistan. He is a creation of America...The enemy is ignorance. The only way to defeat it is to build relationships with these people, to draw them into the modern world with education and business. Otherwise the fight will go on forever" (310).

This book has inspired me to get involved and be supportive of the charities and organizations that are working to help someone or something else in need. I want to become involved and active in an organization like the one Mortenson help found, but there are so many other things I am passionate about as well. My trouble will be picking just one!