Ghost Light Monday -- going back to my musical roots

I spent the weekend in my hometown, and was figuratively slapped in the face by some of my musical roots: namely contemporary Christian music. It made me realize what a different tack my musical life took after I left home.

I don't cast aspersions on any type of music-making, and I feel truly at home listening to contemporary Christian music, since it is what I grew up singing in my youth church choir. But I don't want to go back to singing it very often. I never felt comfortable with it, and don't feel like I have the swing to really get into it. Not to mention not having the vocal range.

When I left home after my junior year of high school, I attended Interlochen Arts Academy to be a theater major. At Interlochen I had two important 'ah-ha' moments. One was about being gay, which isn't a topic for discussion here. The musical 'ah-ha' came when I sang the Vivaldi Gloria. I had never known that choral music like that existed, and found a surprising facility in singing it. I haven't looked back, and I know that my professional life and musical life would be much the poorer if I had never discovered classical choral music.

That's part of the reason I feel a real sense of loss and (well) doom over the discontinuation of music programs in public schools. Classical music is not going to be every student's cup of tea. Neither is math, physics, or football going to appeal to 100% of the student body. Even if I had not gone into the arts professionally, I would be singing in a choir (as I do to this day) with an affinity for traditional choral works. This is part of what makes me a well-rounded person, able to work in a group setting, putting aside personal agendas for the good of the whole.

I think this is what the arts teach us. While you may spend a lot of time in the practice room, learning the notes, when concert time comes, you are dependent on a lot of other people and they are dependent on you. The classroom doesn't teach you that. Sports teams do provide that lesson in good programs, but for the kids who aren't interested in sports? Where is the choir, where is the school play?

Sometimes you get to be the star. Sometimes you have to paint the flats.