What Do I Value in Music.....

So, this week the blog is on a live music review, which I find very interesting because I have seen more live music this week then I think I have in my entire life. Thursday night there was the Chamber Concert, Friday the Lotus Festival and then Saturday night the guest artist Thomas Cooley. Now I am left with the dilemma of which to write about....

The Lotus Festival is an International Music Festival held in Bloomington, Indiana annually. This year, as seems to be tradition with the School of Music, a group of students attended. At first I was reluctant to give up my Friday night to an event that at first glance didn't seem all that appealing, then I changed my mind and I am so glad I did. I was able to see three amazing shows, well two amazing shows and one really good one. The first venue my group visited was called VIDA. VIDA is a group of former IU School Of Music students who formed a group while at school and then continued to tour after graduation. It is a group comprised of four females who sing a cappella music from all over the world. I simply sat in awe during this concert. Not only did the group have amazing talent and harmonies, but the range of the singers was unbelieveable. This brings me to the actual topic of what do I value in music. I don't know exactly how to answer the question. I can find an answer to what do i value about a live performance or what do I value about a certain type of music, but this question seems a little too general, but I will try to answer it. This concert was absolutely wonderful. There is something about being in a room completely filled with the sound of beautiful harmonies that can literally take your breathe away. This is something that I feel can only be experienced with live music. Now, don't get me wrong, after hearing this group I felt compelled to buy their cd, however my bank account did not agree with me. Anyway, there is something wonderful about a recreated sound that you can listen to repeatedly, but for me it will never compare with that first experience of feeling the music of a live performance.

This idea leads me straight into the next group of performers of the night. They were the group that Dean Johnson kept stressing for us to see. The group consisted of two violon playing brothers, an accordian, drums, bass and guitar and had a style that was described as French gypsy and yiddish based. To say the least if I had heard the group before seeing them perform I don't think I would have enjoyed as much as I did live. There was a kind of energy that the audience was able to thrive off of that could not have been experienced from sitting down and listening to the music on my iPod. Yes, the talent of the violinists was amazing but I feel like I would have felt like something was missing if I just listened to it and did not feel the beat of the drum in my chest and wasn't surrounded by bunches of crazy dancing folk.

There was another group, but I think you get the picture. I value the heart of music, and in my opinion it is easist to feel the heart of music when it is performed live and you can see the emotion and excitement that is conveyed through the perforemers. I do have to admit, however, that there are somethings that I simply love to listen to on my iPod and I am almost nervous about seeing live because I am afraid that I will be dissappointed by a live performance. There are some musicals that I have listened to so many times on my iPod that when I finally heard them performed I was actually dissappointed, mind you some of the performances were high school shows and might have just been bad, but still. Overall I value the expression that music takes on in live performances. Hope that answered the question.....