Imagine a World Without Music...

Last week I had the wonderful experience of watching three musical genius’ together on one stage at Carnegie Hall. Yo-Yo Ma (cello), Leonidas Kavakos (violin) and Emmanuel Ax (piano). I had treated myself to a ticket a couple months ago because although I have played cello since the age of 4, I have never seen Yo-Yo Ma live in concert (a disgrace, I know). When I looked online at the Carnegie Hall website there was one last ticket way up in the back of the balcony. I bought it figuring I could at least hear the music. When I arrived at Carnegie Hall, the usher who helped me noticed where my ticket was and actually switched his staff seat with mine so that I could sit in the dress circle two levels lower. He was going to be working anyway, he said, so he might as well give me the better seat. In other words, he was being a thoughtful, kind gentleman. Of course the jaded New Yorker in me asked “how much more?” assuming he was trying to make some money, to which he replied “no…I am giving you this ticket”. I was touched. Sometimes New York City makes us so hard that when the moments of genuine humanity show themselves, especially out of nowhere, it takes us by complete surprise.

I walked up to my new seat in the dress circle, excited to finally see the cellist I have idolized my entire life. He was; of course, amazing. He was just as effortlessly flawless as I imagine he would be from all the recordings I had ever heard of him. Everything looked so easy. His fingers flew down the strings like a bird flittering off a windowsill. Kavakos and Emmanuel Ax were equally as incredible. I cried. By the end of the concert when the three of them were playing all together I had actual tears rolling down my cheeks, and I’m not ashamed to admit it. I have been in the famous Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall many times before. These are the types of things New Yorkers get accustomed to by living here. We have places like Carnegie Hall at our fingertips completely accessible to us. I know it sounds a bit snobbish, but it’s true, I have frequented the famed Carnegie Hall many times. This night was different though, for all the times I have been in Stern Auditorium, I feel like I only really saw how beautiful it was as I listened to Yo-yo Ma play. I took the time to look around at the intricate ceiling, the arc of the stage, the people sitting all around me in one of the oldest, and most famous concert halls in New York City, and as I looked down on the stage I realized something, I was watching three incredibly talented musicians from completely different backgrounds who had come together for one purpose, to make beautiful music and share it with all of us. Yo-yo Ma; Chinese decent but born in Paris, France and raised in America. Leonidas Kavakos; born and raised in Athens, Greece. Emmanuel Ax; born to a Polish-Jewish family in the Ukraine but raised in Winnipeg, Canada. I mean, this was diversity at it’s finest! It was incredible to think that while we seem to live in such difficult times with so much cultural adversity, this was the true statement of cultures coming together to bring peace through music. I looked around at that beautiful concert hall listening to the sound of angels and I realized that although the world is absolutely crazy right now; whether from the coronavirus pandemic, or politics and the democratic debates or Syrian refugees flooding over the Turkish border into Greece, at that moment, for those two hours I was able to push all of that aside and just feel at peace. That is the power of music, especially classical music. I relaxed into that auditorium that has been a New York City institution since the end of the 19th century and listened to three of the most amazing musicians that have ever played on stage together…and I cried. I cried for all the years of playing my cello that are now behind me, I cried for my cello itself that sits in my living room untouched for months while I work 50 hours a week. I cried for all the musicians that follow their hearts to find themselves struggling in between work, and I cried because I realized once again, no matter what happens in life, no matter how crazy this world seems, as long as we have music everything can be peaceful again.

I’ll never forget that scene in the movie “Titanic” when the ship is sinking and the musicians continued to play up until the last minute (which by the way is completely true, that actually happened). Music is played in times of celebration and times of sorrow. Music feeds the soul and heals aching hearts. When I was Miss Alaska my platform was “Music for a ‘Sound’ Education”. I travelled to various elementary schools volunteering in orchestras and classrooms. I spoke on the importance of music in the schools and how when budget cuts are made, music and the arts are the first to go. This has always been something I am passionate about, and it’s always something way too overlooked. We live in a world that places more value on things like technology. iPhones, tablets and computers run our lives. Software engineers make significantly more money than teachers because their skills are “useful” and their products “valuable”. What THEY do makes the world go round in an economic sense, there is no doubt about that, and yet we also live in a world where people are angry, suicide is on the rise, and mass shootings are sadly becoming a common occurrence. When someone sinks into a deep depression is it from scrolling through an instagram feed comparing their lives with all of the people they “follow” feeling jealous over what others have and what they don’t? I don’t know, but It’s definitely not from listening to a beautiful piece by Bach or Mozart. I do not want to knock technology here. It has brought so many wonderful things into our lives. I feel closer to my family and friends spread out all over the world because I am able to FaceTime or Marco Polo them on a regular basis. I can blog and share my stories and what I’m passionate about because of technology. There is so much good that comes from technology and in a way it has even brought more music into our lives, and wouldn’t it be nice if we used our devices to listen to that music more? Especially classical music? If we really want to solve the unsolvable problem of a clashing world wouldn’t it be a good start to focus more on things that bring us peace? Instead of things that bring us envy or anger?

Imagine a world without music. Think about for a minute watching a movie with no music. Going to a bar or a restaurant with no music. Driving in your car or going for a run with no music. Celebrating a graduation or a wedding, or mourning a death with no music. Now, think about a world where everyone uses their iPhones and takes the time to listen to beautiful music. Think about about a world where everyone is walking around listening to Bach or Beethoven or Mozart. I know this is not quite realistic, and there are definitely so many other musical genres that bring equal value into our lives, but I’m trying to demonstrate the importance of music in our lives. We must never devalue this importance, and we must always remember what it can do and how important it is to our world. It can make us happy or sad and it can even make us fall in love. It calms us, and it creates an environment of peace and comfort. We must never forget all the wonderful feelings music brings into our lives, and we must never forget…. “Music can change the world” - Beethoven.