Perilous Sundays

I am not exactly sure how to respond to comments (still figuring the whole blog thing out), so I am responding here: THANK YOU!!!! You all made my day--even the person who didn't have anything nice to say. And to answer a question, yes, the color was photo-shopped in for Muddy. Still working on "propagate" and missed "adrift" altogether.

My last post was on my birthday weekend--it was a lovely weekend but I kind of went into a slump afterwards. I couldn't even look at my blog--that I thought no one was reading. Ha! I will not be so negligent again.

The above is an old drawing I did of a church tower in Zurich, Switzerland. When my husband and I were first married we moved to his home country. For a short time he trained in Zurich and lived in a sort of dormitory of the company he worked for. It was under the roof of their office building in the center of town and I came for the weekends (I don't think I was supposed to be there at all). Zurich is ancient and although this area is no longer residential there are three large churches just a stones throw away. Let me tell you, the Swiss are serious about their bells. This room literally vibrated on Sunday mornings. Not only that, but the churches staggered their ringing so it went on for ever. First, one chimes 6 am--you wake up wondering if the building is on fire. Once you figure out it is bells, you hardly have time to take an aspirin before the next church begins and so on. It would have been lovely if they had been at a bit of a distance, but our window (open, of course, because it was summer and it is very hot under the roof), was eye level with towers (as you can see from the drawing).

IF: Muddy

Rising above the muck. Must get better at that.

Does this make my head look big?

As I have said, I'm kind of confused by the whole follower thing. If you received yesterday's blog, I apologize. I think it was the combined effect of three books at one time. I actually didn't feel better after venting so I have de-blogged. Don't even know if that is allowed but there you go. It is not that I have changed my opinions, I just didn't feel right being so negative. Who am I after all? Blogging makes one feel important and that is a bit dangerous.

That warm feeling is spreading in my chest...

For a couple of days now I have been signing in just to look at my new header and pictures--it starts the day with a happy smile on my face. Yes, I am easily amused. Still trying to figure out the whole "I follow you--You follow me" thing in the blogosphere, so I have been experimenting there as well. I apologize where applicable, if I have not followed "blog etiquette." I am a newbie and am working on it.

Deleting negativity. It is my blog and I will de-blog when necessary.

Schubertiade Chicago 2010

Saturday we survived the sixth annual Schubertiade. Around 500 people crammed the 8th floor of the Fine Arts Building this year--we keep breaking our record. Here are the numbers:

500 people (approxiate, since it's free it is impossible to be exact)
60+ performers (thank you, thank you)
15+ volunteers (thank you, thank you)
3 "stages"
7 hours (x3= 21 actual hours of music)

The atmosphere was charged. There were lots of young folk and children in attendance and also many regulars who have been to every Schubertiade since we began. That includes the year we did it on Superbowl Sunday when Bears were playing and it was -10 degrees outside (we still filled the room)!

Why do we do it? The easy answer is that it is a celebration of Schubert's birthday with his music--an idea started in Europe and practiced in many cities. However, if that were the only reason, I seriously wouldn't care if we never had another Schubertiade. The stress on our family, the wear and tear on our children, my legs, Thomas' high blood pressure, and our dog--yes, even our dog--make it a day I dread as much as look forward to. And that is despite our wonderful hardworking volunteers who have taken over so much of the work (again, thank you, thank you).

However, I truly think that if classical music is to survive it is through personal experiences like the Schubertiade that it will gain a foothold. Here is an event that is free to the public, where there is no pressure to sit through two hours of music (you can come and go as you please), where children are welcome (with adults, mind), where there is a party atmosphere yet people are (for the most part) well behaved and you experience the music close up (in intimate rooms) and can meet the artists afterward (even sit next to them in other concerts). I believe it is through these experiences that people, who might not otherwise, build positive and more open attitudes to classical music.

Granted, our reach is not large. The superstars such as Lang Lang do their part to raise consciousness through their sell out concerts and media blitzing. But how many people can afford a concert by LL and of those, how many can afford (or will risk) to take a child with them?

We are not the only ones, of course. There are so many wonderful ideas taking form in Chicago (Fifth House Ensemble's Black Violet is one, just off the top of my head). By the way, if you go to Black Violet, look for a puritan dog in the crowd with different colored eyes, that is our long suffering Heidi (mentioned above).

Thanks for reading.