As we start the new year, many students here at TIA are preparing for Festival in late March. Preparing repertoire for this event can feel daunting, but it’s also an incredibly rewarding experience. There are a lot of techniques to explore and passages of music to master. That said, I hope that all our festival participants, and all of our talented students, can take a few lessons from Gillian Weir.
Who is Gillian Weir? I certainly didn’t know that name until I stumbled across an article she did with the BBC. Weir is an organist from the UK who has enjoyed a 48 year long career with 40 professional recordings and nearly countless concert performances. In the interview, she discusses some of her favorite repertoire; Bach, Fuaré, and Messiaen to name a few, and her experience playing in many of Europe’s most beautiful cathedrals. In most of the interview, Weir reflects on the art of performance itself. She says, “The world of music is a world of magic: you need to draw people into that magic” She goes on to describe one such experience, recounting “I remember one night when they were doing the ‘Wednesdays at 5:55’ concerts. People would come from work or their shopping and you would have to quieten them down. I began with Bach’s Liebster Jesu, one of the short chorale preludes, and it worked perfectly. Extraordinarily, everybody just went quiet. It was a marvelous moment.”
I hope that we can all experience that world of magic in this new year. I know for myself, I’m looking forward to playing a Philip Glass symphony in March. There’s always been something about his music that is profoundly moving to me. Maybe you can think of an artist who has that kind of meaning to you. Either way, there is so much music to be found, both new and old, and it’s easier to find now than it’s ever been before. Each note was made because someone felt that inspirational spark. We all have to opportunity to be explorers of music, so listen well, and listen often!
As students are preparing a wide array of music right now, I encourage each of you to keep that magic in mind. It can be tough if you feel like you barely even know what notes to play, but it’s never too early to find that spark. One of my favorite questions to ask myself as I practice is “what do I love when I listen to or play this piece, and how can I play it in such a way that communicates that to others?” That’s the mindset that Weir championed in her career, and connected her to audiences worldwide for decades. For us, I believe that practicing this way moves us ever closer to that magic we love about music, not to mention, it makes practicing more fun! –Daniel Boschee