THIS SEASON, WE ARE CELEBRATING THE MANY WAYS WHICH MUSIC CAN EXPAND A PERSON’S WORLD VIEW, AND THE WAYS THAT MUSIC CAN TRANSCEND AGE, LANGUAGE, AND MORE TO BRING PEOPLE A LITTLE CLOSER TOGETHER.
To kick off our holiday giving season, Dr. Jo shares a personal story about the power of music during her trip to China.
When I speak with parents about my favorite question, “Why Music?” I always get really excited. My staff starts laughing and rolling their eyes. Here she goes again.
There are so many practical reasons why music education is important, like developing patience and grit, helping students learn how to master new things, teaching teamwork.
But for me, it’s also the fact that music can expand a student’s view of the world. We can learn about culture, history, even things like geography, when studying a piece of music. Our program directors weigh a lot of considerations when selecting repertoire, including how a piece of music might introduce students to new worlds.
This past spring, I performed with the Pacific Symphony on their first tour to China. It is where my family is from, yet I had never travelled there. Not a day went by on that trip when I did not consider the irony that it wasn’t my family connections that brought me to China. It was music.
For me, the greatest surprise on the tour was that moment at the end of each concert when we played a Chinese folk song as the encore. I could sense that exact instant when the audience recognized the piece. The applause would start to die down as the orchestra began the melody.
It is truly an amazing experience to feel that great connection and joy between the performers and the audience. Music brings people together in a way that few other things do. It transcends age, language, socio-economic background. We can all share in the magic of music.
Stay tuned as we share personal stories from some of our staff about where music has taken them over the years. We hope you enjoy the adventure as much as we will!
-Dr. Jo