WHY CLASSICAL MUSIC … or any art for that matter … MATTERS

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I am working with the Concert Truck on a 20 state tour in 2020. The concert truck is bringing world class art to all populations with a mobile concert hall.

Susan Zhang and Nick Luby in front of their mobile concert hall

I am pretty scientifically minded. I have two engineering degrees and am very comfortable with a spreadsheet. Yet, I have always known, despite the lack of logic, that culture, art and music are powerful. It wasn’t until a conversation with a mentor that I could put an argument around my heightened sense of value for creative productions.

I asked my respected friend, a retired museum director, how he went from entering college as a math major to leaving graduate school with a PhD in Art History. The pivot occurred when reading Henry Adam’s Mont Saint Michele and Chartes. Adam’s brilliantly describes that upon entering a space like Saint Michel, someone has a deep and seemingly conflicting sensation that man is quite small, inconsequential AND man is amazing for their ability to create such spaces.  A cathedral, embodies the spiritual. 

The arts are powerful because they can move us in ways that no object can. 

Classical music is one such force.

I have a pretty proto-typical relationship with music. My parents suggested I take piano lessons in my primary school years. I have some fond memories of tickling the ivories but most of what I recall was my shortcoming in practicing, which then lead to less than comfortable confrontations with the well-mannered-grandmother-like-figure that was my piano teacher. Mastering the instrument required more practice then my sub 10 year old mind and body could endure. (For that matter, it requires more than my present adult mind and body could endure!)

The path to classical piano virtuoso (or any instrument)  is not for the faint of heart. The technical aspects alone take incredible rigor and near superhuman feats. It is quite unlikely that you will find someone complaining as they exit the symphony hall saying, “I don’t get it, my kid could do that.” 

Classical music reminds us of how amazing humans can be!

My knowledge of the time tested music we call Classical is also typical. I want to believe I can tell the difference between Bach and Beethoven but I am hard pressed to name the precise piece. Furthermore, the names of world class composers that history has handed down to us, are not at the top of mind. I have an awareness but it is not refined nor deeply academic.

However, I can not help but encounter the musical form.  I recognize its near ubiquitous presence in other mediums of pop culture. Film borrows from the tradition regularly and leans heavily on the affective nature to get us to feel something that a moving picture alone can not. If a producer wants to: heighten the tension, increase the elation, allude to love or fill us with nearly any other human sentiment, there is a piece of music that has endured time to do so. 

Classical music makes us feel!

Classical music is one of the magical arts that moves us to the higher planes of our humanity. It reminds us how amazing human beings are and at the same time how simple we are to be scared by the guy in a hockey mask.

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Why Right Now?

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The time has come. I have decided to start blogging. But why write now?

I confess this first post is for me. I will likely need to revisit it in the future to find encouragement in why I felt it important to express my thoughts to the world. In the end, I do not want to contribute to this notion.

I find my self writing now for 3 significant reasons.

  1. Writing is a good thing.
  2. Surprisingly, more people are interested in what I have to say.
  3. Writing is a habit I want to form and what better time then Lent.

I have a bias towards non-fiction writing. In particular, I like a good biography. As I have read the lives  of savory (and less savory) folks, I find myself wondering how so much is known about the lives of people that  have shaped history. It then dawns on me, that many of my hero’s were meticulous note takers of their own lives.  Rockefeller kept a personal ledger on him at all times. Ego likely compelled many to  document their lives, but I also think they understood the value of writing out your thoughts.  Written thoughts are easier to remember and much easier to manipulate into a plan. And, writing is a window to our own mind and therefore a tool for creativity. Julie Cameron sings the praises of writing in Artist Way, a book on recovering creativity. She prescribes 3 long hand pages every morning before you do anything else.

The corollary to this point is that writing is not my forté.

I have hidden too long behind my degrees in engineering as a reason for my inability to accurately capture a thought in media. I am 10 years removed from solving a differential equation and now in an industry that relies on telling stories. It is time to refine my skills in the fire of “comments”. Critique is welcome on the writing itself and the content.

Writing is an important practice, but why am I compelled to share my ponderings?

Lately, I have been pleasantly surprised by the number of people who want to share their ideas with me. I have been even more surprised when they ask what I think.  A couple of things have happened in these conversations. I find myself repeating anecdotes and thoughts, and I realize that what I think might have value to other people. My writing will increase efficiency and may benefit more people. Not to mention a few people I respect have been giving friendly nudges to put some thoughts down. I assume this is so they can respond or include it in their own philosophical rhetoric.

Writing will help me and it may help others, but why start now?

I am quite late to the blog-o-sphere but I recognize that our current age runs on Google juice. Blogs provide the nectar of that juice. Furthermore, last Wednesday marked the start of Lent. One of my take-aways from Lent is the notion that prior to fulfilling his passion, Jesus spent a duration of time fasting and studying. Even the son of God took a moment to shape his destiny by developing habits. What I find interesting is that we often highlight the sacrifice (fasting) and not the addition (study). Good discipline is BOTH removing excesses and adding healthy activity. I seek to add a good habit this year. I hope you enjoy.

This post may or may not have been fueled by this.

A note about what is to come. As a promoter of Art; I hope to share musings on public art, community art, entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurship, and many other challenging and interesting topics.

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