Last week the concert and symphonic orchestras at my school had the opportunity to attend an open rehearsal of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Yo Yo Ma.
The experience was absolutely unreal. We first got to hear CSO perform ‘Foreign Bodies’ by Esa-Pekka Salonen, who also happened to be the guest conductor for the orchestra. The piece was spectacular; Salonen’s combination of string, wind, and percussion instruments amplified the beauty and intensity of the music, and each movement was refreshing and intriguing, filled with originality yet classic heart. Every single member of the orchestra in themselves was a marvel, their accuracy, focus, and dedication put every public-school orchestra performance I’ve been in to shame. And then, when I thought it couldn’t get any better, Yo Yo Ma joined to play Cello Concerto No. 1 by Shostakovich. He was exemplary; as soon as his bow hit the string all other members of the orchestra seemed to fade into simplicity, and people were drawn to the edges of their seats by the level of perfection he was playing at. The most wonderful thing about watching him play was how he seemed to feel the music through his whole body. His head would be bobbing along , or his whole body would be lifted off his seat, and every time he stopped for a rest he would wrench himself away from his cello as if pulling himself away from physically being inside the music itself.
After the rehearsal was finished there was a Q&A with Yo Yo Ma and a bass player for the CSO who he’s been friends with for over 25 years. Yo Yo Ma was incredibly down to Earth, intelligent, eloquent, and gave great advice on questions about balancing stress, choices about the future, college, and musicianship.
When the time was up, we walked back through the then blustery, and snowy city streets, and we rode the train home; sitting under the green tinted train windows, feeling contently inspired, the day’s melodies floating out of our head's.
