February 5, 2025 - Good Morning! It’s Wednesday, February 5.
Have you ever had a “brush with greatness?” That’s the term for a momentary meeting with a famous person. I once shook hands with Ronald Reagan. I’m sure that moment made a deep impression on him! Honestly, it’s not a memory that I think about much. But, in 1982, as a college student in Houston, I met a man who made a very memorable - and surprising - impression on me.
While I was in college, pursuing a music degree, I sang with the Houston Symphony Chorus, a group that, from time to time, would accompany the orchestra. In 1982, a concert was planned that would feature a piece by the music legend Leonard Bernstein, and he was coming to Houston to conduct it himself! The piece, “Chichester Psalms”, references several biblical psalms - in the original Hebrew. That was a challenge for us Texans to learn and to sing. Hebrew is an amazing language, but its sounds - often harsh, hard, guttural - don’t exactly roll off the tongue. But we practiced hard for weeks, anticipating the arrival of the Maestro.
The concert met all my lofty expectations, and remains one of the top five musical experiences of my life. But, it’s what happened after the concert that has lingered the longest in my memory. I mustered up the courage to approach Bernstein, reached out my hand, and said something like, “Thanks for coming to Houston.” But who the heck knows what I said - in that moment I was lucky to remember how to speak English. If you recall your brush with greatness, you probably also recall how fast your heart was beating!
But, then, I received a surprising impression. The Maestro... was short! About 5’6”, I’d guess. I’m 6’4”, so I literally looked down on this towering figure. I thought later that I’d only ever seen him when he was conducting, and a conductor stands on a podium that’s about a foot high, sometimes higher. Plus, Bernstein conducted with his entire body, and with a level of power and passion that has never been matched. I have a photo of that 1982 concert in my music studio. It shows the choir, with me standing on the back row, and Leonard Bernstein - towering over us all.
Chichester Psalms was written in 1965, a year that saw many conflicts between Israelis and Palestinians. It is disheartening to see how little has changed in 60 years. Bernstein, amid that climate of conflict, composed music of comfort and reconciliation. The closing section is sung pianississimo - very, very softly. Intricate, luminous harmonies end in an achingly sustained final note of unison. The text is from Psalm 133 - “Behold, how good and pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity.”
That really makes an impression.
Meet you back here tomorrow,
Bro. David
cindertex50@yahoo.com
