"Now I Am Playing," or Why American Fork Needs a Symphony
Remarks I made at last Saturday morning's symphony rehearsal.
You know that I am running for City Council, and that I am running on my reputation as someone who gets action on the issues that matter to our homes, families, and neighborhoods.
But maybe you didn't know that I also lead a parallel life as a classical pianist and accompanist. In fact, I currently serve as accompanist for the Arts Council's Timpanogos Chorale.
It's as a musician that I want to speak to you today.
My mother taught me to play the piano. She was the most extraordinary teacher. She arranged for my performance debut when I was three years old. This was during the Viet Nam War, and I was part of my family's USO act.
My mom had a rule. It was, "Live music is always better." Every time she put a record on to play, she reminded us that we could turn it off any time we wanted to play the piano. We often did.
There is a story my mom likes to tell, a story told by one of the great concert pianists. He also went out for baseball, and one day, right in the middle of a crucial World Series game, he had to walk the dog. Passing a playground, he saw another game in progress. Little Leaguers were playing amidst roaring crowds, like a big league baseball game in miniature.
The pianist went to investigate. He met one of the young athletes. He said, "Do you know there's a World Series going on right now?" The little boy thrust out his chest and said, "Yes, but now I am playing."
That's the important thing about our symphony. Every Saturday, every one of you can throw out your chest and say, "Now I am playing."
Every time I go to a school event and hear children singing to a canned accompaniment, I shake my head and remember my mom's rule, "Live is better."
We are fortunate in this day to be able to sample the finest recorded performances by the finest artists in the easy comfort of our homes and schools. But we do our children a disservice if we do not teach them to appreciate the living, breathing quality of live music.
If we do not teach our children to tolerate and rise above the occasional mistake, we will never raise a class of amateur musicians. Soon there will be only professional musicians and non-musicians. Then, without a class of amateur musicians to feed the professional class, that professional class will disappear.
That, in my opinion, is why it's vitally important to have a symphony, a choir, and a string program right here in American Fork.
Now, there are some questions you should ask of me, and they all start with dollar signs. Let me ask them for you:
Do I know how much it costs to operate a symphony? I have a pretty good idea. Instrument rental. Hall rental. Music rental. Director's salary. Insurance. Publicity.
Where do we get the money? Economic development. The only way to get more money for arts is to increase the city's revenue flow. American Fork needs an economic development plan, an economic development director, and an economic development mindset. We also need a long-range strategic plan that says ARTS in big capital letters. Then when the revenue from the Meadows and other development starts to flow, the Arts Council will be ready to use it. Unfortunately, the last strategic plan our city made was in 1992. It's time for a new one.
What's more important, arts or recreation? My family uses arts programs, but my neighbor's family goes out for recreation. I am a vocal advocate for parks and recreation, as you know. So I say, arts AND recreation. Both support families. Unfortunately, athletes are such big, burly Type A's that recreation always gets the lions' share of the funding. We artists need to learn to beat the athletes at their own game. We can compete like they do. We can play the PR game. Inviting the candidates to your performance was a stroke of brilliance. Next, I'd love to see members of the Arts Council providing musical preludes to our City Council meetings. There's no reason we can't win this game. Everyone knows you have to be smart to play a musical instrument.
Speaking of which, I'm keeping you from your instruments. Thank you for giving me your time this morning, and don't forget to vote on November 8.
You know that I am running for City Council, and that I am running on my reputation as someone who gets action on the issues that matter to our homes, families, and neighborhoods.
But maybe you didn't know that I also lead a parallel life as a classical pianist and accompanist. In fact, I currently serve as accompanist for the Arts Council's Timpanogos Chorale.
It's as a musician that I want to speak to you today.
My mother taught me to play the piano. She was the most extraordinary teacher. She arranged for my performance debut when I was three years old. This was during the Viet Nam War, and I was part of my family's USO act.
My mom had a rule. It was, "Live music is always better." Every time she put a record on to play, she reminded us that we could turn it off any time we wanted to play the piano. We often did.
There is a story my mom likes to tell, a story told by one of the great concert pianists. He also went out for baseball, and one day, right in the middle of a crucial World Series game, he had to walk the dog. Passing a playground, he saw another game in progress. Little Leaguers were playing amidst roaring crowds, like a big league baseball game in miniature.
The pianist went to investigate. He met one of the young athletes. He said, "Do you know there's a World Series going on right now?" The little boy thrust out his chest and said, "Yes, but now I am playing."
That's the important thing about our symphony. Every Saturday, every one of you can throw out your chest and say, "Now I am playing."
Every time I go to a school event and hear children singing to a canned accompaniment, I shake my head and remember my mom's rule, "Live is better."
We are fortunate in this day to be able to sample the finest recorded performances by the finest artists in the easy comfort of our homes and schools. But we do our children a disservice if we do not teach them to appreciate the living, breathing quality of live music.
If we do not teach our children to tolerate and rise above the occasional mistake, we will never raise a class of amateur musicians. Soon there will be only professional musicians and non-musicians. Then, without a class of amateur musicians to feed the professional class, that professional class will disappear.
That, in my opinion, is why it's vitally important to have a symphony, a choir, and a string program right here in American Fork.
Now, there are some questions you should ask of me, and they all start with dollar signs. Let me ask them for you:
Do I know how much it costs to operate a symphony? I have a pretty good idea. Instrument rental. Hall rental. Music rental. Director's salary. Insurance. Publicity.
Where do we get the money? Economic development. The only way to get more money for arts is to increase the city's revenue flow. American Fork needs an economic development plan, an economic development director, and an economic development mindset. We also need a long-range strategic plan that says ARTS in big capital letters. Then when the revenue from the Meadows and other development starts to flow, the Arts Council will be ready to use it. Unfortunately, the last strategic plan our city made was in 1992. It's time for a new one.
What's more important, arts or recreation? My family uses arts programs, but my neighbor's family goes out for recreation. I am a vocal advocate for parks and recreation, as you know. So I say, arts AND recreation. Both support families. Unfortunately, athletes are such big, burly Type A's that recreation always gets the lions' share of the funding. We artists need to learn to beat the athletes at their own game. We can compete like they do. We can play the PR game. Inviting the candidates to your performance was a stroke of brilliance. Next, I'd love to see members of the Arts Council providing musical preludes to our City Council meetings. There's no reason we can't win this game. Everyone knows you have to be smart to play a musical instrument.
Speaking of which, I'm keeping you from your instruments. Thank you for giving me your time this morning, and don't forget to vote on November 8.
posted by Heidi Rodeback at 7:40 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home