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Look to music for renewal in these difficult times
Look to music for renewal in these difficult timesAn article by Deborah Molodofsky October 16, 2009 by Deborah Molodofsky Be not afeard; the isle is full of noises, Sounds and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not. Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments Will hum about mine ears, and sometime voices That, if I then had waked after long sleep, Will make me sleep again: and then, in dreaming, The clouds methought would open and show riches Ready to drop upon me that, when I waked, I cried to dream again. - William Shakespeare, The Tempest In the movie A Walk in the Clouds, about a Mexican family and their ěLas Nubesî vineyard in Napa, California, there is a scene where a flash fire destroys the entire vineyard and with it the familyís fortunes. When the original root, which was planted a distance away, is discovered to have survived the fire, Anthony Quinn, the head of the family, joyfully announces ěLas Nubes lives!î As the recession continues to affect many of us, our friends and neighbors in New Castle and many parts of the United States, it is an appropriate moment to think about music. Music has the power to help us not only survive these uncertain times, but to enrich our lives and those of our children with a spirit of joy. Like the original root in the movie, music gives us the endless capacity for renewing our pleasure for as long as we choose to play and listen. Whether the root of a composerís compositions came, as Beethoven wrote in his letters, from the divine, or from gifted imaginations, music is something which has enduring value. Like love and friendship, music is priceless. To listen to a concert, to learn to play an instrument, to compose a piece of music, to sing in a chorus, or to simply go to the Chappaqua Library to check out CDs of music, is to avail oneself of a free gift that is there for everyone to partake. For talented children who want to study an instrument whose parents cannot afford lessons, there are scholarships offered by reputable music schools throughout New York. For seniors who would like to sing in a chorus, there are many organizations in Westchester County such as the Westchester Concert Singers, Westchester Oratorio Society and the Canticum Novum Singers who will extend a warm welcome. For adults who are seeking a private respite from the stresses of this economy, music lessons can be a powerful antidote to the worry and anxiety that many of us are experiencing. As the joy of musical fulfillment is harnessed to face-off against stress and anxiety, one thing can be said with surety; music, like ěLas Nubes,î will endure.  Deborah Molodofsky, Director Deborah Molodofsky is a violinist who has played since she was in the fourth grade. She teaches violin at the Amadeus Conservatory of Music in Chappaqua, and performs chamber music as a member of the Amadeus String Quartet. Originally published in NewCastleNow.org |