Written by: Matthew Kimbley
On Nov. 3, about 200 students and community members crammed into Ackerman Auditorium, anticipating a very unusual program. Many attendees expected a standard classical music concert complete with a set of expected rules: The audience should refrain from clapping between movements, talking, using phones or rattling paper programs. Likewise, performers are expected to maintain a professional atmosphere and perform accurately and with musicality.
This concert, however, broke almost every rule in the book. Paper airplanes were flying. Performers hit numerous wrong notes and a hacksaw was brought uncomfortably close to my viola (no instruments were harmed in the making of this production).
Whereas most classical pieces call for standard instruments such as the violin or piano, these pieces called for rubber chickens, a ten-foot-long strand of fishing line and a video incorporating Subway Surfers and Austrian conspiracy theories. Pieces such as Aaron Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man were replaced with Fanfare for the Common Cold.
This concert was titled “Tribute to P.D.Q. Bach,” and it featured the music of Peter Schickele, a musical satirist who created the fictional character and wrote entertaining parodies of famous classical music pieces and genres. Schickele passed away earlier this year, and some students and I organized this program in his memory. But why would we take countless hours away from our packed schedules to coordinate, rehearse and perform an elective recital with no benefit to our degrees?
In the midst of late-night homework sessions and seemingly endless stress, we have to find ways to keep ourselves motivated to fend off discouragement. Though there are many ways to achieve this, I have found that one of the most effective methods is finding the joy within my own major.
As a musician, I find joy in making music that is not expected for class. I like to compose music for fun or organize silly concerts such as the “Tribute to P.D.Q. Bach.” I enjoy visiting nursing homes and bringing happiness to the residents through sharing my musical talents. Activities like these help me remember why I am a music major in my most stressful moments of extended ensemble rehearsals, frustrating practice sessions or tight music history paper deadlines.
As we begin to close this semester, many of us feel burnt out. We are ready for Christmas break, but even a three-week break often isn’t long enough to overcome the exhaustion we feel from the first semester. But can we find ways to remember why we chose and loved our majors in the first place? Find some means, whether big or small, to help bring you some joy in your path of choice. Maybe organize a small community service event fitting for your career path or apply to be a tutor next semester. Perhaps sign up for a mission trip that aligns with your goals, or even just share an exciting idea with someone based on something you learned in class. ‘
Or, like me, you could organize a musical parody concert and spend three hours trying to figure out how to wear a monocle.