On Thursday, January 22, 2015, we had the great pleasure of performing for over 900 adoring fans. It just so happens that all of these fans are between the ages of 5 and 17. This may have been the first time that we truly felt like rock stars and it was so exciting! It was an amazing feeling to experience their excitement about the saxophone and the music of the Kenari Quartet. While there is fulfillment in execution and perfection of our craft, nothing satisfies an artist like a happy audience, regardless of age.
These attentive fans were all of the students at the Nova Academy in St. Paul, Minnesota. We were able to play for them as a result of our residency on the American Public Media show, Performance Today. The Nova Academy is K-12 public charter school that focuses on providing their students with a classical education. This means that music and arts are a core part of their curriculum. In an era in which the arts are being cut from schools as if they are no more important than recess, this school is particularly special. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if all public schools around the country were as dedicated to arts education as the Nova Academy?
Young people always seem to have open hearts, minds, and ears when listening to new music. In fact, most people have wished at one point or another that we could see life as child would again. The kids were not ashamed to clap when we played something that they thought was amazing, and they also weren’t afraid to laugh when a piece was a little quirky or silly. As performers, it’s a great feeling to know that the audience is really connecting and understanding what you are playing. We fed off of the kids energy and excitement and this performance became one of our most fun performances to date!
While performing was a blast, there is no doubt that the kids asked us some awesome questions that are totally worth mentioning (for very different reasons!). The very first question was from a very young girl (the one that Kyle is talking to in the photo for this post), who simply wanted to know if we were “here a few days ago, because I heard some noises coming from behind the curtain.” We all shared a good laugh and explained that we had just arrived a few minutes prior to the assembly and weren’t guilty of any noise making in the previous days. In contrast with the silliness, we also received questions about breath support, our reasons playing classical saxophone, chamber music skills, among other more sophisticated ideas. All in all, these kids were really impressive and we would love to see them again someday on the stage or in the audience at classical music concerts!
It is easy to forget about the little, fun things that make up our day to day life as musicians. We were reminded to find child-like enjoyment in playing the music that we love and to not take ourselves to seriously, because we are so lucky to make a career out of what we do for fun!
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