“So, how was playing with the San Diego Symphony?”

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This is an excerpt from my January 2023 email newsletter “The Brain Break,” which I send out once a month on or around the full moon. If you like what you’ve read here, subscribe so you can be the first to read my writing, get tickets to upcoming performances, and find out when I have openings for private lessons.

“So, how was playing with the San Diego Symphony?”

In the immortal words of Miles Davis…

it was the most fun I ever had with my clothes on!

Originally, I was only supposed to play one show: the last of the three “Noel Noel” concerts featuring the San Diego Master Chorale. However, due to a COVID case in the percussion section, I wound up playing on all three concerts.

Much to my surprise and delight, I was also asked back the next week to play for “The Grinch.” 

Throughout my two weeks subbing with the symphony, I struggled with fear and imposter syndrome. Every time I made a mistake, I would question whether or not I should really be on that stage among musicians with full time orchestra jobs.

(Never mind that I could also hear them making mistakes!)

I wondered: 

• Am I past my prime?
• Am I damaged goods because I didn’t go to graduate school?
• Did eight years of teaching middle school atrophy my chops and turn my brain to mush?

I started to relax after several San Diego Master Chorale members complimented my playing.

The choir sat on risers just behind the percussion section, so they had front row seats for all of our shenanigans – like: 

• my djembe solo, 
• the red and green LED lights we put on the sleigh bells, or
• the 8-foot slapstick the San Diego Symphony percussionists bring out each year for “Sleigh Ride.”

The positive feedback from the singers gave me the confidence I needed to keep going, which brings me to my first major takeaway from this experience:

If someone does something you appreciate, TELL THEM!

You will make a big difference in their day…and possibly their life!

My next major takeaway came from a book I’m reading called Making Your Life as an Artist by Andrew Simonet.

Most folks think of musicians like professional athletes – either you’re in the NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL, MLS, or whatever acronym corresponds to your sport – or you’re an amateur.

However, one can be a professional musician without necessarily having a full-time tenured orchestra job.

A musician’s career can also last much longer than an athlete’s – for example, Kim Lakowski became the associate principal bassoonist of the New York Philharmonic at 48 years old.

(Imagine an NFL team drafting a 48 year old!)

Although this isn’t common in the music world, it’s still possible – and that’s why it’s important to remember that…

Music is not sports!

Which leads me to my third and final takeaway…
 

In our hyper competitive society, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that reaching a milestone first does not necessarily indicate that one is “the best.”

My dad, who played recreational soccer until he was 61, maintains that he had a much better understanding and tactical approach to the game in his later years, even if he lacked the speed he had as a youth.

This is why I believe in music education for kids –
it is LITERALLY something that they can do for the rest of their lives.

It’s also why I think adults need music –
it’s an area where experience and wisdom really come in handy.

Or, in the words of drummer Tommy Igoe…

Music is not a race!

As for me…

I learned that if I can get fifteen to twenty 11-14 year olds who would rather be punching each other, throwing their shoes, or messing around on their iPads…

… to play Afro-Brazilian rhythms, write their own pieces, and play drum set in a rock band…

…then I can damn well hold my own in a symphonic percussion section.

I can’t wait to do it again!