I needed to capture this. So i took the pains for this laptop to boot up, took forever. I waited to sign into the remote login and yet again waited to login. A long 10 minute process to capture a 30 minute experience, but so enriching and invigorating.
I had come back from a long day at work. Another normal day. A decent dinner followed. A hot cup of freshly brewed Starbucks coffee. And yet I am not amused. Bored. Disinterested. Sit down with my book. I am apparently preparing for a CISA certification, which is 10 days away. And today is yet not the second time I have opened the book to prepare :)) That's me... last minute. What kind of a role model will I be...
But anyways ....
So I sit down, cool summer breeze, long summer days, with the sun still nice and bright at 8 pm. I am lounging on my patio when I hear a beautiful symphony. That is my neighbor practicing her violin. She plays at the orchestra, is teaching students and yet has a rigorous daily routine of practicing the violin everyday. I hear her often, a remote tune, a distant story. But today was different. I felt melancholy and was very intrigued.
I just got up from my patio, walked over barefoot into her adjoining patio and just tapped at her window. Her concentration was disturbed for a brief instance. In fact , she was shocked at the sudden interference. She slid the door open, smiled at me, let me in and continued to play. I positioned myself in a huge Lazyboy with my big fat book, a cup of coffee, a wink at her and sat listening.
Beautiful symphony. A half hour of blissful music. Such peaceful moments. As if, a life apart. A different world. It was so beautiful. A profound introspection followed, as she played...of her discipline, her lonely existence, a peaceful demeanor and strong will. As she continued to play, reading the notes, I noticed the intense concentration and passion of an artist. Lots more than what I could write. Of a human spirit, the beauty of music, of independence, of profound need for survival, of a competitive spirit, a different race unlike the corporate rat race, the beauty of a women, the love of an artist, the peace in music.
We got talking for a brief 5 minute and I told her how invigorating the music felt.
She said, "For the audience it is relaxation, but for an artist it is intense concentration."
And then she got talking. She has playing since the age of seven. Nearing 40,she still practices atleast 5 hours a day. Today she had practiced for 8 hours. She is preparing to join an orchestra full time and that would be substantial income. Currently, a mere $ 35K is her annual income. Artists are so grossly underpaid.
She talked. How one position opens up in like 4 years, when a musician might retire. How competitive. For that one position, how 200 candidates appear. And then how a 10 minute backstage performance determines their fate for the next 40 years in some cases. Like a clarinet player is just one player in an orchestra and could hold that position for 40 years. In those 40 years, a new position would not open up. So basically, a generation may become old, a seven year old could become 47 and then a clarinet position may open up. Since the orchestra may not take a player at 47, there could a situation when the artist practiced a lifetime of clarinet but never became a part of an orchestra!!!
It seemed a different life.
No parity. A life of discipline and passion, quite like a sportsman. That is why artists are so different from us. She talks with her music. She thinks i am very smart to be able to construct sentences and converse fluently. She is shut out to a conversation 8 hours a day while she practices. Oops ! that never occured to me.
A different life of a life that lives next to me. Just a wall separates her house from mine but her world is another planet.
I came back cognizant of how each life is a different story, waiting to be told and understood. An interaction with an artist is always about passion.
But anyways ....
So I sit down, cool summer breeze, long summer days, with the sun still nice and bright at 8 pm. I am lounging on my patio when I hear a beautiful symphony. That is my neighbor practicing her violin. She plays at the orchestra, is teaching students and yet has a rigorous daily routine of practicing the violin everyday. I hear her often, a remote tune, a distant story. But today was different. I felt melancholy and was very intrigued.
I just got up from my patio, walked over barefoot into her adjoining patio and just tapped at her window. Her concentration was disturbed for a brief instance. In fact , she was shocked at the sudden interference. She slid the door open, smiled at me, let me in and continued to play. I positioned myself in a huge Lazyboy with my big fat book, a cup of coffee, a wink at her and sat listening.
Beautiful symphony. A half hour of blissful music. Such peaceful moments. As if, a life apart. A different world. It was so beautiful. A profound introspection followed, as she played...of her discipline, her lonely existence, a peaceful demeanor and strong will. As she continued to play, reading the notes, I noticed the intense concentration and passion of an artist. Lots more than what I could write. Of a human spirit, the beauty of music, of independence, of profound need for survival, of a competitive spirit, a different race unlike the corporate rat race, the beauty of a women, the love of an artist, the peace in music.
We got talking for a brief 5 minute and I told her how invigorating the music felt.
She said, "For the audience it is relaxation, but for an artist it is intense concentration."
And then she got talking. She has playing since the age of seven. Nearing 40,she still practices atleast 5 hours a day. Today she had practiced for 8 hours. She is preparing to join an orchestra full time and that would be substantial income. Currently, a mere $ 35K is her annual income. Artists are so grossly underpaid.
She talked. How one position opens up in like 4 years, when a musician might retire. How competitive. For that one position, how 200 candidates appear. And then how a 10 minute backstage performance determines their fate for the next 40 years in some cases. Like a clarinet player is just one player in an orchestra and could hold that position for 40 years. In those 40 years, a new position would not open up. So basically, a generation may become old, a seven year old could become 47 and then a clarinet position may open up. Since the orchestra may not take a player at 47, there could a situation when the artist practiced a lifetime of clarinet but never became a part of an orchestra!!!
It seemed a different life.
No parity. A life of discipline and passion, quite like a sportsman. That is why artists are so different from us. She talks with her music. She thinks i am very smart to be able to construct sentences and converse fluently. She is shut out to a conversation 8 hours a day while she practices. Oops ! that never occured to me.
A different life of a life that lives next to me. Just a wall separates her house from mine but her world is another planet.
I came back cognizant of how each life is a different story, waiting to be told and understood. An interaction with an artist is always about passion.
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