Indianapolis Symphony Blog

I'm quite excited to post my first blog!  I'm not at all savvy about anything electronic, including but not limited to computers, i-pods, phones and remote controls.  One of my colleagues reminded me of my "one to one" session with a "genius" at the  Apple store where I learned how to turn on my i-pod.  My husband, Jerry, who is the 3rd horn here in the Indianapolis Symphony, has thrown his hands up in despair after each of my button pushing marathons with the TV remote control.  However, I'm looking forward to blogging!  I've been a member of the ISO's 1st violin section since 1975, and there is little truth to the saying that "unless you're the lead dog, the view is always the same."

The past few days I have been eagerly watching the Olympics.  I like to think there is somewhat of a comparison between these extraordinary athletes and us musicians.  We both have worked immensely hard since we were young children, often making sacrifices in our lives to accommodate our crafts. (My mother made me practice every day, missing lots of fun times with friends, and it took no time for me to get my geek label.)   We both suffer through physical injuries and keep pushing through the pain to continue to perform.  We strive for perfection with many many repetitions to ensure perfection, and yet when it's time for the real performance, that 12th man, be it a panel of judges or a paying audience, is such an unnerving factor!  How many times did I say to myself, "but it went so well in practice!"  Because we love our art/sport we continue.  The times that all goes well and the audience responds with thunderous applause makes all the work so rewarding and those heart breaking misses, falls or mistakes, those things that have never happened before, they strengthen us in the end, and make us "seasoned performers."  I do appreciate all the dedication these athletes put in to their work and love to watch them perform at such extraordinarily high levels.  Our concerts aren't quite an Olympic game or a Super Bowl, but all the musicians do bring their best game to each concert, all for that thunderous applause!