Why I Do What I Do

Whew!  That one word says it all.  My last three weeks have been crazy as I prepared my various choirs for all of their concerts.  The fact that I survived them with a smile on my face is quite a feat in and of itself.  I'm sure many of you feel the same way.

As musicians, the month of December is a hectic time in our schedules.  We rush around frantically working with all of our choirs and preparing them for their concerts.  The big night comes, and we climb up on the podium and hope and pray that all of our preparation will pay off.  We smile and speak with members of the audience as they come up and tell us how much they enjoyed the concert.  We shake hands and pat the backs of the VIPs that attend our concerts, trying to keep our administrators and boards happy.  We hug our singers and tell them what a great job they did.  Then, when the last person has left and we are by ourselves, we finally breathe a sigh of relief and relax -- but not for long.  It's time to start looking through the music we have picked for our next concert and deciding how we are going to approach it during our rehearsals.

And so it goes...  The cycle never stops, except perhaps during the summer hiatus that most of our groups take.  Even then, we are always thinking ahead and selecting music for our next year's concerts and meeting with our board getting ready for the next season.  Do we ever totally shut down?  Do we ever fully separate ourselves from our role as choir director?  Maybe some of you can.  Unfortunately, I can't seem to do it.

Why do I do what I do?  Why do I choose a vocation that consumes me like this?  Why do I love taking a motley group of people and creating beautiful music with them?  David Ackert, a reporter with the LA Times, says it far better than I ever could:  

 "Musicians are some of the most driven, courageous people on the face of the earth. They deal with more day-to-day rejection in one year than most people do in a lifetime.   With every note, they stretch themselves, emotionally and physically, risking criticism and judgment. Why? Because musicians are willing to give their entire lives to a moment - to that melody, that lyric, that chord, or that interpretation that will stir the audience's soul. Musicians are beings who have tasted life's nectar in that crystal moment when they poured out their creative spirit and touched another's heart. In that instant, they were as close to magic, God, and perfection as anyone could ever be. And in their own hearts, they know that to dedicate oneself to that moment is worth a thousand lifetimes."

Wow!  Couldn't have said it better myself!