inside Rhodes

If you’re just tuning in to the blog, I have been writing about my experiences as the pianist for a Rhodes student ensemble. We are traveling around all summer performing our music for non-profits. This week took us to Middle Tennessee and Memphis. Enjoy!

Ouch. All three of us are tired from moving our stuff across campus… I never realize how much stuff I can cram into a dorm room until I have to pack it up and move it out. Note to self: don’t step foot into the Pottery Barn outlet or Garden Ridge at all next year.

This week we played in Franklin, TN and Memphis. We had to do a lot of soul searching for our trip to Franklin. We are having to keep a close watch on our CODA grant funds to make sure we will have enough money to travel to North Carolina, Oklahoma, and pay for our housing. When we got asked to play at New Hope Academy and NHC Healthcare of Franklin, we had to ask ourselves what was more important…the money or the music? Ultimately, we decided to take the day trip to Franklin and share our passion with others…no matter what the financial consequence. Laura always makes me smile when she speaks in front of our audiences. She always thanks them for coming, but more importantly, thanks them for letting us share our passion for music with them. Isn’t that what it’s all about?

The trip to New Hope Academy was, interesting, to say the least…

This was our first school, so we had to create an educational program to go along with it. We talked about music from a few different angles including languages, emotions, history, and the design of our instruments. It was amazing to see how intelligent the students were about music! It was also very encouraging to hear their music teacher talk about the thriving music program in a time where many music and arts programs no longer exist. The school itself was unique: it was a very diverse mix of students from many racial and socioeconomic backgrounds. The entire school was well behaved and seemed to enjoy every minute of the program.

After we performed at the school, we took a short drive over to NHC Healthcare (a nursing facility). We did a shorter program for a much smaller audience, but one experience we had there really stood out to me. My back was facing the audience (the piano was against the wall) and during “At the River” I heard some of the residents singing the familiar tune with Laura.

The next day, we performed for a large and very alert crowd at Trezevant Manor, an assisted living facility in Memphis. I think we would all agree that this was a true highlight of our summer. The residents were so receptive to us, gave us so many compliments, and asked us to come back numerous times. It was special that many of these things were coming from people who had studied music in college or are still musicians themselves. After our performance every person in the audience came up to us, shook our hands, and told us how much they enjoyed our concert. One man told us that we “lifted him to a place he has never been before”. Others talked about how we comforted their hearts, gave them a happy nostalgic feeling, or made this a “perfect day”. All three of us walked away from the concert with a little more spring in our steps and a little more happiness in our hearts.