Last night I had the very great pleasure of attending the closing ceremonies of the 6th Emirates International Peace Music Festival...FREE! It was organized by the Emirates Youth symphony, which I didn't even know existed until my friend Mimi told me her son played in the orchestra and invited me to attend.
Anyways, what's inspired me to write this today is that we (my husband and I) were absolutely blown away by the talent of these kids, especially the guest violinist, Ellie Choi from Korea. This "virtuoso" was only 8 years old and held the audience spellbound. When the conductor and director of the festival, Riad Kudsi, introduced her, he shared with us that her music selection would typically be played by a very well-seasoned musician but that she had insisted so he left the rest for us to decide. She was not only meticulous in her playing but exuded a unique flare and passion that's rare in one so young. I sat there thinking, "this little girl was born to do exactly what she's doing." Her playing brought tears to my eyes and I think it was a combination of admiration for the beautiful music she was sharing so openly and enthusiastically but also amazement at the fact that she (and her parents, of course) had recognized and nurtured this rare and very special talent. She used no sheet music and almost seemed to be reading the pages behind her closed eyes. She was incredible. Some people criticize parents for forcing children so young (she started playing at 3) to commit so completely to a craft (whether it be music or athletics) but I believe in this case it would be a horrible waste for this child not to be pursuing her musical purpose. We were told that she also plays piano with equal skill and passion. She is attending Julliard in NY on full scholarship and is one of the youngest students ever to be admitted.
She was truly inspiring and left me wondering as I walked out of the performance totally uplifted, "Was I born to write?" I sure hope so!!! :)
Anyways, what's inspired me to write this today is that we (my husband and I) were absolutely blown away by the talent of these kids, especially the guest violinist, Ellie Choi from Korea. This "virtuoso" was only 8 years old and held the audience spellbound. When the conductor and director of the festival, Riad Kudsi, introduced her, he shared with us that her music selection would typically be played by a very well-seasoned musician but that she had insisted so he left the rest for us to decide. She was not only meticulous in her playing but exuded a unique flare and passion that's rare in one so young. I sat there thinking, "this little girl was born to do exactly what she's doing." Her playing brought tears to my eyes and I think it was a combination of admiration for the beautiful music she was sharing so openly and enthusiastically but also amazement at the fact that she (and her parents, of course) had recognized and nurtured this rare and very special talent. She used no sheet music and almost seemed to be reading the pages behind her closed eyes. She was incredible. Some people criticize parents for forcing children so young (she started playing at 3) to commit so completely to a craft (whether it be music or athletics) but I believe in this case it would be a horrible waste for this child not to be pursuing her musical purpose. We were told that she also plays piano with equal skill and passion. She is attending Julliard in NY on full scholarship and is one of the youngest students ever to be admitted.
She was truly inspiring and left me wondering as I walked out of the performance totally uplifted, "Was I born to write?" I sure hope so!!! :)
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