Jon Schmidt: Just listen

This Sabbath we were graced by the presence of the legendary pianist Jon Schmidt. After hearing that he would hold a FREE concert that evening at the Augustus-Victoria Church down the street, all 79 of us made the short trek to hear the musical icon's live performance.

The concert was small, the last half of the rows of seats empty. The rickety, aged, brown standup piano was out of place beside the ornate carvings and dramatic religious statues caking the interior of the chapel.

He sat, a charming smile lighting up his red-hair framed features, and gently touched his fingers to the worn keyboard.

Then.... the magic began.

Emotions began ricocheting inside of me as harmoniously as the echoes that filled the massive hollow of the church. Each note was rich, eerie, chilling, thrilling, and igniting all at the same time. I was reminded of our innate and intense desire to create, to achieve, to perfectly channel each rare and precious emotion in a perfect explosion of clean and pure art.

This is what music does to us. It prods to life some of our deepest fears and joys, reminding us of who we are, of what we want to achieve, of the beauty of the human spirit because of its ability to create.

My remarkable experience with music has shown me that it is a universal language. There is something deeply spiritual about a sweet and striking melody, about haunting tones and an unexpected trill. It is electrifying and empassioning. It takes us through emotions ranging from blistering fire to the chill of ice between the opening measure and the closing chord.

Sometimes... Jerusalem just feels surreal.

Any of the experiences I have recently been given, regardless of WHERE they occurred, would have had a remarkable effect on me.

To have these experiences in JERUSALEM gives them an entirely new level of wonder.

The Jon Schmidt concert atop the sacred Mount of Olives made me feel alive. I felt energized, inspired, and bursting with a flood of energy and gratitude at the raw beauty of what I was experiencing.

It's not everyday one gets to see such a rare and precious gift, earned through the tireless effort of 10,000 hours (Malcolm Gladwell "Outliers" reference) :) .

I will never forget that night, just as I can never forget this place.

Find the beauty all around you. Stop once in a while and just listen. Remember that even an aged, cobweb-covered, and worn stand up piano can produce music exquisite enough to alter a group of young people for a lifetime.

Happy listening!

PS- having trouble getting the event photos from my iphone. This is a picture from our field trip to Augustus-Victoria a few weeks ago.