From Start to Life

Last week marked the 7^th year that my dad had passed away.  He and I shared this love for music.  I have 2 distinct instances that I can remember vividly.  One year on Valentine’s Day, he took me to a Josh Groban concert in Cleveland and that continues to be one of my favorite memories.  We were sitting in the nosebleed section around a whole bunch of lovely dovey couples, but it was like we were the only 2 in that venue.  The other occasion was during solo and ensemble contest when I was an 8^th grader.  I had just finished playing Canon in D (memorized) on a grand stage with a beautiful Steinway concert grand piano.  As I was walking off stage, I looked for my parents and was greeted with the biggest smile I have ever seen worn on my dad’s face.  You would have thought I won the Pulitzer Prize.  After I lost him, I turned to the piano to seek guidance and strength.  When I was in high school looking for future careers, I aspired to be a lawyer just like him…but then I found music therapy.  So one of the inspirations behind my studying music therapy was and is to provide people with the sense of comfort that music provided for me.  His life was also about adventure.  So I am still amazed every day at this adventure of studying music therapy in Germany.  I have so many new questions, so many new insights.  Music therapy in Germany focuses, from what I can tell, on the psychosomatic populations.  And watching the students’ classes, I’m questioning how they prepare to be these incredible improvisers.  And then from there, how do they form goals for their clients, how do they mark success?  I’ve listened to many of us commenting on how incredible German culture is.  Many things seem to be very progressive, but they only have one university that offers a bachelor’s degree in music therapy.  It’s incredible to see growth of knowledge in just a few weeks. 

This week’s journey ended with a beautiful note.  The piano is where this whole journey began and where it continues to guide me.  I was honored to be able to play the piano in the Schumann house in Leipzig.  The very one they would have played on.  That was just…surreal.  That was closing the Leipzig adventure with a sense of comfort.  I walked along the corridor and listened peacefully as an elderly gentleman played Schumann on that very piano.  So the essence of music therapy is more than just a definition.  It’s a way of living.  The stories of life continue on long after the last breath.  Music carries their voices, their emotions, their intent through the listeners, the performers.  And what an incredible thing to be able to form and mold that to fit our voices, our emotions, our very being.  I hope on day someone sees all of the beauty of an experience, a journey.  Because you will never quite be the same after that.