Musicalings

After much deliberation, we have chosen a winner.  Congratulations to . . .

(Imagine the drum roll . . .)

LAUREN ALAYZA!

Here's what she had to say:
 

Dear ISO, My name is Lauren Alayza, and I am a seventeen-year-old aspiring cellist. It is my dream to become a fine cellist, (as fine as Yo-Yo Ma!) and to play chamber music professionally someday. I have only been playing about five years, but I try my hardest to make it seem as if I have been studying much longer. I am not like most student musicians, in fact, I believe someone with my situation is rare and unusual to come by. A few years after I began playing cello, I was diagnosed with a debilitating rare condition, that is not completely diagnosed yet. It has been a great four-year struggle to deal with the infinite debilitating symptoms, including arthritis which is difficult to deal with for any musician. Despite my pain, extreme fatigue, and occasional depression, I make it to all my lessons and rehearsals every week, and I have noticed an intriguing ongoing pattern. After every cello lesson, I leave feeling the best I have felt that day. Cello lessons quickly became a sort of distraction therapy, an escape, if you will, to my other life; my feeble reality. When I practice and play my cello, I am quickly engulfed in music and concentration to produce the best sound I possibly can, and voila, before I even know it, I have forgotten all of my aches and pains! Because of this epiphany I have had with music and its healing powers, I have vowed to dedicate my efforts of cello playing and practicing to someday help others experience this wonderful phenomenon we call music. I want to see (and meet!) Yo-Yo Ma at the Hilbert Theatre this Thursday because Yo-Yo Ma gives me inspiration as a musician, and as a cellist. I have followed his music from Sesame Street, to the Inauguration of President Obama, to duets with some of my favorite rising musicians, like Andrew Bird. Yo-yo Ma is inspiring to me because he is so open-minded to: different genres of music, collaborating with new and rising musicians, and I am sure he would be open-minded about exploring the healing possibilities music can offer to the world today.

Enjoy the concert Lauren!  We hope it brings you much joy and inspiration.

We also have an honorable mention.  Because of his very clever poem, we're giving Matt and his wife two free tickets to attend Joshua Bell on November 13-14.  (That concert's also approaching a sell-out.)  Here's the poem:
 

There was once Matt trying to impress his mate,
He was quite the average fellow,
So he planned this fantastic date,
To see his wife drool over some dude on a cello.
Little did he know it was the Yo-Yo Ma show,
An evening at the Indianapolis Symphony,
And tickets are sold out! “On No!"
So please help Matt through your empathy.
Two tickets would surely make my night.
Hearing the Dvorák’s Cello Concerto in B Minor,
From Yo-Yo Ma would be quite the sight,
And would really make my date finer.

And finally we have great news for everyone who submitted a comment.  We're going to give you all a pair of free tickets to the premiere performance of Symphonic Hits on October 16-17 featuring Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony and piano powerhouse Garrick Ohlsson.  We'll email you all in a few days with the details.

Thanks to everyone who participated and keep on reading our blog!