Last night, I went to a Miró Quartet concert of Barber, Shostakovich, and Schubert! They were incredible as always. It seems like there are a few things that I can expect from my concert-going.
#1) From sleep deprivation (probably from waking up this early), I normally fall asleep during a long Sonata-Allegro movement. Schubert, while lovely, was not in harmony with my public school life. It was a head bobber so to speak.
#2) If my mind wanders, it always tries to re-evaluate what it is that I am doing with my life. I invariably feel the need to pull out my favorite Dont etudes and make vows to play chamber music, quit my job and start up a full-time Suzuki studio.
Here's a fun note. After the concert, I got to congratulate the quartet and say my hellos. I think I should share that I teach 3 hours of Suzuki Early Childhood Music Class (Baby Class) on Saturday mornings in addition to my public school and private studio job AND that I teach Daniel and Sandy's (Miró violinists) children! I learned yesterday at our little meet and greet that they are very impressed and excited about our music class. I would not have thought they would be excited to this magnitude. It is hard enough to convince a regular parent that singing some songs and some rhymes and doing some steady beat activities are important. They are world-class artists. Weird! And intimidating!
In my mind-wandering, I was thinking about the things that we do and how we deny ourselves the opportunity to do what might make us happy. For example, why do I want to deal with public school b.s. when if I did not I could go to yoga, read books, teach and grow a program that reflects my personal philosophy, and play my instrument. Maybe I would even have time for a personal life. Minus, the health insurance, I don't feel that there are many losses.
Why is it so hard to play chamber music when most of your friends are musicians? Why can not playing some of music's best literature be a priority in our lives? I remember wanting to have a functioning quartet since high school. I remember being recruited for undergraduate in high school by teachers who spoke of Friday night chamber music parties. As dorky as that sounds I don't understand why that isn't true. How can it be that so many of us, including the music students, are so wrapped up in other things that we cannot make time for self-satisfying things that identify us with being musicians?
I loved going to yoga. There is almost no time for me to go anymore. I could get rid of my personal life and just take 2 hours out of my day to sweat in a 100-degree room a couple nights a week, but it just does not seem plausible. Why don't I make time for it?
I forgot the source, but I read or heard once that it is remarkable that it is the things that are the most important to us that are the first things to go. The mundane things, the deadlines, take over most of our days, and the essential things are given to the chopping block.
What is it that is essential?
I'm going to that Dont etude before my baby class.
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