The NSO

“God is a beautiful symphony, and we are blessed to play a note in His composition.”

                                                       ~ paraphrased from an overheard conversation

I am not always successful at it, but I do make a sincere effort to not look back on my life with regrets. My faith encourages me to try and understand that the decisions and choices that I have made, be they right or wrong, are for a purpose. They are all part of the journey that I am a part of. Sadly, sometimes, my resolve is not that strong and I am reduced to confronting a few regrets. I do this, then I move on.

This month has given rise to a particular regret. I’ll write about it here, then, I’ll move on.

I regret that I waited so long to regularly attend the Nashville Symphony Orchestra! 

Nashville is a mecca for music; all types of music. In our performance halls, bars, honky-tonks, arenas and even our street corners, you’ll hear some of the best music in the world played by some of the best musicians in the world. And in the heart of city stands the Schermerhorn Symphony Center, home of our Grammy award winning symphony.

I knew they were there. 

Through my years of living in Nashville I would occasionally attend a concert in the park or at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center. In fact, Gerrie and I were there to hear the last note of the last piece the symphony played at the Center prior to moving to their new home. I enjoyed these times and would say, “we need to do this more often.” But then, life would go on as usual and the thought would soon pass away.

This began to change on Friday, January 8, 2010. We attended our first concert in the new Center. That evening we were thrilled by violinist Hilary Hahn’s performance of Jennifer Higdon’s Violin Concerto. But the highlight was the Saint-Saens Symphony No. 3 in C minor, Op. 78 “The Organ Symphony.” This is perhaps among my favorite orchestral pieces. As the final movement progressed, I teared up. The music soared and it took my spirit with it.

But as before, when the music ended, we collected our programs, stepped into the cold night air and resumed our life. A year passed, but the gears were turning a little quicker now.

My wife’s favorite classical piece is the Violin Concerto in D Minor, Op. 47 by Jean Sibelius.  I learned that Stefan Jackiw was to perform the concerto with the NSO as part of their 2010-2011 season. On another January night we found ourselves at the Schermerhorn and this time it was Gerrie’s turn to soar.

Once the piece ended and the ovations were finished, she leaned over and whispered in my ear, “You know, if you were to give up your Titan’s season tickets, we could be doing this more often.”

Being quick in my response, I said, “Honey, you know, I have already been thinking about that.” And I had.

Fast forward to now.

We have just finished our first season as subscribers and have purchased our season subscription for 2012-2013. This month alone I have enjoyed the brilliance of our hometown symphony on four occasions including one magnificent performance at Carnegie Hall in New York. We’ll also be in attendance on Friday evening for the season finale of Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana. Each time I leave the hall I think, how glad I am to have finally made the decision to attend the symphony regularly. It has been one of the best decisions I've made in the last few years.

____________________

Our world moves too fast. Times that once seemed simple are now so complex. Each day is met with good and bad; positive and negative. It can be chaos. We are in a hurry for something. But as I’ve grown older I sense that God desires us to find the beauty in each day. What is beautiful to me may not be to someone else. This is alright. The point is that we each find what is beautiful to us about each day. It becomes our personal beauty. And we celebrate it!

The evenings that I spend listening to the Nashville Symphony is my beauty for that day. I celebrate as I walk up the front steps into the Symphony Center. I know that I am about to be inspired and transported. I am about to be given wings that will enable me to transcend whatever the day wrought on me. I know I will not be disappointed.

Regrets, I’ve had a few. One is that it took me so long to appreciate this precious gift of music. Now having gained that appreciation, I no longer need to look back, but ahead to hours of enjoyment. My years ahead will be filled with great music.

Greg