My New Season Realization and Resolution -- Weekly Inspiration from Crystal!

This week's Weekly Inspiration Post is brought to you by our resident oboe player & Director of Educational Programming, Crystal. 

This week we began rehearsing for the first show of the new season (our In Transit series).  I am playing two pieces: the Mozart quintet for winds and piano and the Villa Lobos reed trio.  Both are solid masterworks of chamber music, and I love them both.  And they couldn't be more different!

Each piece requires so much from the players but in very specific and different ways.  And what I realized while I was sitting there, struggling to nail the intricate rhythms of Villa Lobos and the precise and sparkling character of the Mozart, was that I really LOVE having the opportunity to stretch myself and to use all the tools in my toolbox.

Upon further reflection, I had a realization: this is exactly what I do in my daily life.  I am required to be many things to many people, and sometimes it's easy to get caught up in the negatives.  Who doesn't love to complain?  I heard recently on NPR that scientists did a study saying that people complain more on Mondays than other days...something like 34 minutes on average compared with 22 minutes every other day.  I thought, 22 or 34, that's a lot of wasted minutes!

Fact is, I am so lucky.  Not only do I have a super-hilarious and cute 22-month old and a great husband, but I GET to do so many great things day in and day out.  I get to bring music into schools in an active, creative way.  I get to go to swim class with my daughter.  I get to teach young oboe students of all ages to love the oboe as much as I do.  And I get to play amazing and beautiful music of ALL sorts with equally amazing and beautiful people.

My new season resolution is to embrace the craziness that is life and to celebrate all that I get to do.  And hopefully to use the 22 or 34 minutes I would have complained to take a quick walk to watch the trains with my daughter, or play a game of Yahtzee with my husband, or play some beautiful music.  (Ok, maybe I'll save a couple minutes of that complaining for reeds...I am an oboe player, after all.) Fifth House Ensemble