Onward! Sideways!

What if community was understood to be the opposite of tribe: a collection of individuals with nothing particular in common except acknowledgment of need for one another, whether just good will or perhaps something even deeper. This is a critical issue in these dreadful days.

But it is nothing new. When, in the 1970's, I proposed setting up a people-oriented chamber music program at the Mannes Extension I was told, in no uncertain terms, that "it would never work." Thirty-five+ years later it was still thriving. Why?

I needed community more than I needed approval. The community of the NY professional music scene had decidedly closed its gates on me, so I had little choice if I wanted a music-centered life but to find an alternative community.

Amateurs! Bless your hearts! I had been effectively promoted to your status by being freed of the constraints of those in seats of power and manipulation.

I could not have done it without the insights of Viktor Zuckerkandl ("Sound and Symbol:" Read it, if you haven't already; it is empowering).

It has taken me a long time and considerable effort to put into perspective the blessings of a physical condition which rendered unthinkable professional piano-playing: for a long time it enraged me. Now I am grateful to have had this excuse for moving in the right direction, right in terms of hope, and joy, and the future -- provided each of us makes a point of the hope and joy parts of amateurism.

Onward! Sideways!!