Angel’s Landing & A Hero’s Life

Every now and then I have an experience that reminds me of exactly why I love music and attending concerts – Memorial Day weekend I had one of these experiences.

My family went down to Zion National Park that weekend to camp, play, and hike – specifically, we were hiking Angel’s Landing. If you haven’t been to Zions and done this hike, it’s difficult to explain how beautiful and majestic the journey is. It’s amazing. From the breathtaking (literally) section called Walter’s Wiggles to the end of the hike where you hold on to a chain for dear life while walking a long, narrow trail with an 800 foot cliff on one side and 1200 foot cliff on the other, it was easily the most memorable hike I’ve done.

While hiking I was listening to my iPod and between the Tim McGraw and Lagwagon, Strauss’ Ein Heldenleben came up in the shuffle (yeah, I have eclectic music tastes). I can’t imagine a more perfect piece of music for a hike in Southern Utah. As soon as the music began, I was immediately brought back to the night when I sat in Abravanel Hall and heard the piece of music for the first time. I felt like I was the hero marching up the trail to the top of the mountain. It was the perfect intersection of life and music, and I ended up listening to the entire piece while hiking the trail.

The more I’ve thought about this experience, the more it’s reinforced my feeling that this is what music is all about. Sure, it’s interesting to go to the symphony or opera to “be cultured” (as we all like to say), but I really don’t think that going to concerts is all about reading program notes and sitting as still and quiet as possible for a few hours so as not to interrupt what’s happening on the stage.

Music connects us to our lives in ways that we couldn’t connect otherwise. In the right situation, music seems to communicate with something deep inside us. It entertains us, comforts us, and excites us. We associate music with times and events in our lives. Music is something that every person in every culture can relate to in one way or another.

When I first heard Ein Heldenleben, I really had no idea what to expect. I can’t remember which cello concerto was on the first half of the program, but I do remember that when I walked back my seat after intermission and saw the massive orchestra on the stage, I knew I was going to hear something special. I had gone to this performance with no expectations and ended up walking away with a new favorite piece of music that would become part of the soundtrack in my life again and again. It taught me to never prejudge a performance by the popularity of a piece or composer.

Anyway, sorry if this post is rambling a bit, but I do have a point. For the past few weeks, there has been an interesting discussion on www.orchestrarevolution.org about the future of symphony orchestras in America. I’ve been following the discussion and find it to be interesting – there are many opinions on what this future looks like, how orchestras can “become relevant” (the favorite buzz word), and what orchestras need to do to “survive and thrive.” There are lots of interesting thoughts on the subject, but not a lot of consensus on the answers. I don’t have all the answers either, but what I do believe is that regardless of what the future of the symphony orchestra looks like, that future has to focus on the music and doing what the music does best – connecting with people.

So what are your thoughts – Why do you enjoy the symphony and opera? What is it that attracts you the music and performances? Why do you keep coming back? I feel like there’s been a lot of discussion on the subject from the industry insiders, but the opinions that I really care about are the ones of the ticket buyers, subscribers, and donors.