makes you... sing

6/29/15

Simón heard the rich sound.

It was so unlike the little twinkly pieces his piano teacher gave him to learn. So unlike the blaring trumpet of the kid upstairs... His sixth-grade teacher was his hero even before today. Mr. Smith was cool, had played semi pro ball after college, he had been a Marine, all the girls loved him- that made him envious- still OK. So it was a surprise, a wonderful, wonderfully unexpected sonorously rich and rewarding surprise to hear Mr. Smith accept the students' challenge to do something on the last day of school at their final Show and Tell. Mr. Smith played from memory, the entire Bach Cello Suite in c minor - on Viola.

Simón fell in love with the sound on first hearing. He asked his parents if he could use the money he had saved from all his birthdays to buy a used Viola. They said they would rent one, give him lessons, If he did well, after a year they would buy him a new Viola. They were impressed by his willingness, eagerness to spend his own money.

A year flew by. He learned scales, arpeggios, bow distribution, read books on string technique.

Harmonic minor was the most soulful he thought. He dreamed about playing that Bach suite. He read through the first four Suzuki books, learned the capital positions, joined a Viola blog from which he discovered he needed to learn Schradiek and Flesch.

He auditioned for and got into a Youth Symphony after an unheard of three years. He was principal Viola at his high school orchestra. He got into All State after earning a perfect score. At the Young Artists Program at Tanglewood, he won the Orchestral Award. On to Juilliard, Aspen, Spoleto. He had grief whenever he heard Viola jokes... five years in therapy dealing with that. What doesn't kill you…

He left his job in the BSO to form his own quartet. Was he crazy? Especially since he premiered so many of his own pieces- teaching helped stabilize his income. So did the grants and commissions to write musical theater/ performance art pieces for colleagues. His new wife was a Broadway actress and singer. He arranged and she performed with his quartet - added a piano, bass, drums, acoustic guitar- inspired by Quintet du Hot Club de France.

All his four children became violists - they started out that way. The oldest son became a civil rights activist, then congressman, the older daughter a superintendent of schools - choosing to work in the most depressed area in Detroit, the third became a social worker, the fourth a doctor without borders.

What doesn't kill you makes you... sing

…with your own true voice.