Another 'Rona Quarantine Draft: Mendelssohn and the Gateways Music Festival...

Amid the pandemic and current unrest over the shootings of unarmed African American citizens in Louisville, Brunswick GA and Minneapolis, the need to cry, protest, march and PERHAPS throw a few objects has been uppermost in the minds of so many. However, one thing that has been recently a precious thought is the harkening for halcyon days--not necessarily for having won the rat race, but the exhilaration and satisfaction of having a goal to reach for and succeeding for having done so. Certainly there is always a need to tell more than a few hilarious reminiscences, and the following is most fitting "as such a time as this"...

In August of 2013, I had the joyous opportunity of performing at the Gateways Music Festival at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. A wonderful assembly of some of the finest African American classically trained professional musicians, the Festival has gathered biennially since 1993, and has been in residence in Rochester since 1997. A Sunday afternoon full orchestra concert culminates the Festival, but during the week the orchestra personnel also rehearses and performs in a variety of chamber music ensembles. That year I was placed with a string quartet to play informal concerts in the Rochester community and in area churches. One evening after a full day of orchestra rehearsals this quartet gathered for a late evening reading rehearsal. In this type of rehearsal, the specific program has yet to be determined, so my colleagues and I got unpacked, seated, parts distributed amid chatter about what music to read through first, and off we went!!

After having played for about 90 minutes, our quartet had grown into a quintet--two violins (Jeffrey Boga and David Burnett), two violas (Christopher McClain and Adrian Davis), and myself on cello. We began reading through the String Quintet No. 2 in B flat Major, Opus 87 (1845) of Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847). We were reading through the third movement, a sad yet beautiful Adagio movement of passionate expression in 2/4 meter. Amid all five of us reading like gangbusters, Jeffrey Boga miscounted and found himself off from the ensemble by an 8th note. In an effort to lovingly assist and "restore ensemble synchrony", David Burnett began singing Jeffrey's part!! This made Jeffrey laugh while he was still playing and trying to find the right spot to read in order to get back "in sync" with the rest of us!! The laughter spread like a virus, and we all fell apart, laughing uncontrollably!! We laughed for fifteen minutes straight!! We eventually got ourselves back together enough to read through to final movement, and adjourned for the evening due to extreme fatigue and obvious giddiness!! 

That moment of laughter was so memorable that when I see David Burnett, I give him a big hug--and say just one word: "Mendelssohn"!!