April 21, 2006
visual bobby
I have been thinking about music a lot lately. I have been frustrated with my voice. The Passion was a tough 20 pages on a B-flat. I have been thrilled with the reintegration of my rusty tones into Chicago Choral Artists. What a great group. We can pick up an a cappella piece like Poulenc's O Salutaris with its C-sharp minor women's quartet enshrouding the men's C-major quartet. Dissonance does not even begin to describe what is at work. Outstanding. I am honored to be a part of CCA right now. I may whine about my self-described rustiness. But I know that I am a fortunate man.
Once upon a time I met Bobby McFerrin. It was at a time when I needed a little affirmation. He greeted me with his "Namaste" and asked me if I were a singer. I simply replied "Yes." He smiled and said, "I thought as much."
It was such a brief encounter. But it was incredibly influential. The ticket to the concert was a gift from a wonderful friend.
Have you ever had such an encounter? Can you recall such words of encouragement from someone you admired? Let me know. Post a comment or simply post a link to a post on your own site.
"I'm my own walkman." - Bobby McFerrin
Posted by tripp at April 21, 2006 01:03 AM
I have seen Bobby once, and it was amazing. He began his college carrer in Springfield (didn't stay long), but this concert was treated by both Springfield and him as a kind of homecoming. Such a humble guy.
I will post my affirmation on my blog.
Posted by: justin at April 21, 2006 08:32 AMI don't have such a story about myself, but a song played in class this week reminded me of one about my cousin. My cousin went to a rather prestigious musical theatre program in college and then to New York to do the New York thing. One night she went to see Audra McDonald perform, and managed to ask her in the midst of tears and gushing to sign her program. Audra looked at my cousin and said something like "Hurry up and finish school and get to New York, because we need more black women who can act and sing." We were all very excited for her!
Posted by: beth at April 22, 2006 09:03 AM