Some people celebrate their major birthdays with a special game of golf- or by taking in a Broadway show- or treating themselves to a porterhouse steak. But not my friend David Schripsema. For his 65th birthday, he stepped on a podium and conducted a special concert of baroque music, featuring works by Vivaldi, Handel, Bach and Albinoni. (Now there’s a man after my own heart.)
A couple of things made it especially meaningful. One was that the concert happened in the beautiful sanctuary of David’s church, First United Methodist Church, the home of the Fine Arts at First series for which David is the coordinator. What better place to mark such a special occasion than in that familiar space and in front of a crowd of familiar, friendly faces?
But what was still more special, I think, was that he was making music with men and women who he has come to admire and enjoy and even love. The chamber orchestra which has accompanied the Sing Along Messiahs has never had any sort of name until now, when David decided to christen them The Fine Arts Festival Orchestra. And what a great group they are, comprised largely of instrumental conductors from the area who play so beautifully and probably cherish the chance to let someone else wave the baton for a change. (And they are incredibly nice since they so patiently tolerate my hesitant conducting for the Messiah performances. Most orchestras would be throwing tomatoes before the first chords of “Comfort ye” had even been played. But not this lovely group.)
The program opened with the Third Brandenburg Concerto and a stunning performance in which the players – as was the custom in Bach’s time – played while standing up. I know that this couldn’t possibly work for an orchestra playing a Mahler Symphony or anything similarly lengthy – but because this was a fairly short concert , the players played just about all of the concert standing rather than seated – which is a neat means to experience an orchestra in an entirely different way. The Bach was followed by the Autumn portion of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, with Ann Lemar Heide burning up the strings as the soloist. (She and David did a little thing right before piece began, in which she was called upon to explain and demonstrate the various melodic themes in the concerto- as Vivaldi imitates someone tipsy, imitates hunters with their guns, etc. ) The last piece on the program was a concerto grosso by Handel.
My participation occurred in the third piece of the afternoon, the famous “Adagio” attributed to Albinoni – for which I played organ. I have undertaken some stern challenges in music over the years, but I’m not sure I’ve ever done anything that was quite as nerve-wracking as this. The organ part I had to play was not all that difficult, but what was difficult was that I was way off to the side, and I had to watch David conduct out of the corner of my eye while playing this beautiful organ for the first time in my life. (Playing an unfamiliar organ is different from playing an unfamiliar piano. Each organ is its own quirky self and getting to know them is no small matter.) For eight and a half minutes, I felt like I was threading a needle in front of an audience of 200 people. . . and it was only when we all successfully reached the final measure that I could breathe again!
At that point, I felt like celebrating – – – so it was good timing when the pastor of First United came out just then pushing a cart on which was perched a spectacular cake which looked like something from The Cake Boss. It had an imposing violin amidst all kinds of flourishes in fall colors – all made of frosting, of course – and it was just right for this wonderful occasion. And when the orchestra played and the audience sang Happy Birthday, the celebration was truly complete.
And all of this got me thinking about February 16th, 2010, when I will turn 50. I’m not sure exactly how I want to mark my half century, but I know that I want music in the mix. . . and I don’t mean being serenaded by tone deaf waiters at Outback Steakhouse either. I mean great music by great musicians who mean something to me. Of course, my birthday will come about a week after Carthage’s production of “The Magic Flute,” so I probably shouldn’t be planning a performance of the Verdi Requiem for the occasion! In fact, I probably shouldn’t be thinking along the lines of a formal concert at all. . . or at least nothing requiring much in the way of rehearsal or even elaborate planning. Maybe it will end up being an echo of something Kathy and I did when we were married 18 years ago- when we gathered up in the sanctuary a couple hours after the wedding and made music with various family and friends. On a day when some fairly spectacular things occurred, Kathy and I cherish the memory of that little program as much as anything. And on that day when I will be both celebrating 50 years of life and agonizing over time’s relentless march, I will want music and the people I love close at hand – just as my friend David did yesterday in such splendid fashion.