On November 3rd, we met over fifty music fans at 6:30am (!!!) at the Berger Park Cultural Center to usher in the sunrise together.
We lucked out with idyllic weather, and the crowd was open-eared and surprisingly bright-eyed given the hour. We began with a group vocal meditation, led by our friend Charmaine Lee, performed two movements of the Ravel quartet, and then shifted into an improvisation to greet the rising sun.
First off, every concert should begin with a vocal meditation. It’s hard to put words to how this collective experience of singing/humming together focused the energy of the room, but there was universal agreement that it was a unique, elevating moment.
And then there’s the way the emerging sunlight illuminated faces and instruments around the room in a bright orange glow. It certainly heightened the experience of playing Ravel’s sumptuous harmonies…
Most meaningful, though, was the sense of togetherness that it inspired. The conversations and enthusiastic responses we enjoyed as we walked out to the Lake Michigan shoreline were unlike any we can remember since we became a quartet.
This was an experience we will never forget….
