Member-only story
No Strangers Here
A Parable
I’m sitting in a church sanctuary, waiting for the Lovely Lady to finish a rehearsal. It’s a place of worship we’ve never been in, but somehow, we’re not feeling out of place.
The beautiful redhead is perched, with perfect posture, at the Steinway on the stage, taking instructions from a choir director she had never met before fifteen minutes ago. The folks in the choir loft are singing as she plays, while the director waves his hand in the air. She doesn’t know any of the singers, either.
It’s baffling. As if they have known her for years, they sing in tune — and in time — with the music that comes from her hands. Beautiful music, from both choir and piano — from strangers amalgamating their abilities and knowledge to achieve a goal.
Music, in circumstances that would cause us to anticipate chaos.
I have seen this more times than I can remember. Complete strangers, from all walks of life, come together with a common bond. A love of music, combined with an intimate understanding of the rules for making it — what we call theory — is all it takes.
I’ve played in orchestras, in quintets, in brass choirs, and in community bands. I’ve sung in church choirs, in small ensembles, and in mass choirs.
