Fall Is Coming. I Can Smell It.
8:08 PM Edit This 11 Comments »
I'm reading tonight. As usual. I took to the swing with my book and some leftover pizza and I'm going to end the night soon.
In a book by Melody Beattie.
I have a friend, a diva, an opera singer from the East Coast. Early on in her career, when she was a beautiful young woman, she resonated to the Mozart Requiem. Her instructor at the Juilliard School of Music, Leonard Bernstein, asked her then why such a young woman with a brilliant future was so interested in such a heavy work. She replied that she didn't know, she just was. Over the years, she continued to sing. Then she married and gave birth to two beautiful sons. When her younger son was twenty, he was killed in a motorcycle crash. "Now I know why I was so passionate about the Requiem," she said. "It was my destiny to sing that song from the depths of my soul. The problem was," my diva friend said, "by the time I learned to sing the Requiem with passion and understanding, I was so embittered and brokenhearted I not longer wanted to sing."
Oh. That resonates with me in a way I can't describe. It hurts my soul.
I've made a decision that this fall I'm going to DO SOMETHING. I have some choices that I've laid out for myself. I'm going to either: Join the community choir (Which is remarkably good. The South Dakota Symphony Orchestra is amazingly wonderful. They do not suck, which makes me happy, and the Community Choir sings with them every winter and they don't suck either.), take Irish Ceili Dance lessons (at the Old Courthouse Museum once a month. I'm Irish, you know.) restring my banjo and take some lessons, or finally (and probably regrettably) take some voice lessons to learn how to harnass The Voice. I was told all through college that The Voice could learn to be controlled if I really wanted to. Really? It was just a way to irritate my sister. It's fun. And it's always in jest that I pull it out. But my sister in law introduced me to a woman in Des Moines that used to be the exact same way. And now? She's an amazing singer. I'm not sure. I'm uncertain where my interests will take me, but I'm going to DO SOMETHING this fall. Weigh in, please. Ultimately, I'll do what my heart tells me to do, but I'd like some input.
In a book by Melody Beattie.
I have a friend, a diva, an opera singer from the East Coast. Early on in her career, when she was a beautiful young woman, she resonated to the Mozart Requiem. Her instructor at the Juilliard School of Music, Leonard Bernstein, asked her then why such a young woman with a brilliant future was so interested in such a heavy work. She replied that she didn't know, she just was. Over the years, she continued to sing. Then she married and gave birth to two beautiful sons. When her younger son was twenty, he was killed in a motorcycle crash. "Now I know why I was so passionate about the Requiem," she said. "It was my destiny to sing that song from the depths of my soul. The problem was," my diva friend said, "by the time I learned to sing the Requiem with passion and understanding, I was so embittered and brokenhearted I not longer wanted to sing."
Oh. That resonates with me in a way I can't describe. It hurts my soul.
I've made a decision that this fall I'm going to DO SOMETHING. I have some choices that I've laid out for myself. I'm going to either: Join the community choir (Which is remarkably good. The South Dakota Symphony Orchestra is amazingly wonderful. They do not suck, which makes me happy, and the Community Choir sings with them every winter and they don't suck either.), take Irish Ceili Dance lessons (at the Old Courthouse Museum once a month. I'm Irish, you know.) restring my banjo and take some lessons, or finally (and probably regrettably) take some voice lessons to learn how to harnass The Voice. I was told all through college that The Voice could learn to be controlled if I really wanted to. Really? It was just a way to irritate my sister. It's fun. And it's always in jest that I pull it out. But my sister in law introduced me to a woman in Des Moines that used to be the exact same way. And now? She's an amazing singer. I'm not sure. I'm uncertain where my interests will take me, but I'm going to DO SOMETHING this fall. Weigh in, please. Ultimately, I'll do what my heart tells me to do, but I'd like some input.
11 comments:
banjo - hands down. We need more Bela Flecks. Plus - everyone needs a little bluegrass in their lives.
Suggestions when all 4 are fan-freakin'-tastic?!!
I like Irish dance and was as happy as a pig in shit when Riverdance came to my town a few years ago.
Do what your heart says. You could spread them all out over a time period.
I used to say to my kids, "Do something, even if it's wrong!"
Ah! I have these same feelings! I always *want* to join the DSSO (Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra - they also do not suck, but I probably do so....); sing in the DSSO Chorus (AH! How I long to sing THE MESSIAH again!) or finally learn how to play guitar....I say there is no wrong answer. All of those sound lovely and will make your heart sing - because you did it!
I've tried and tried to read that title as anything other than "Fart Is Coming."
Reading FAIL.
Also? I vote dance lessons. You seemed to love the swing so much. :-)
Sing. It'll make your courage grow. :-)
I vote for Banjo! I don't know anyone who can play the Banjo.
I vote for Banjo! I don't know anyone who can play the Banjo.
Hey! That's not fair! Crissy voted twice! That's the problem with democracy: people get to vote twice who are not me.
I vote for accordion. Accordion was an option, right? I vote twice for Accordion. They are good for your triceps.
Or how about Celtic dance along with Scottish highland bagpipes? If the Scottish pipes are a wee bit much for ye, try Northumbrian small pipes instead.
I think that public performance builds character and confidence, along with providing you with many moments during which you think you suck more than anyone else alive. But serious voice coaches can be such hard-asses. Have you considered doing stand-up comedy at an open mike?
So, I vote for the accordion, Celtic dance with some manner of bagpipes, and stand-up comedy. Twice.
I love your commitment to doing something fun and for you this fall. I think all those options sound great. Though, if you choose to sing, I'm going to want to hear evidence of it!
Post a Comment