Dear New Audience Member
If you have always thought that attending a concert is a passive experience, merely listening quietly to the music, be prepared to come away from Sacred Winds with a different perception. My first experience with Sacred Winds was in 2002, at their sixth performance. 2011 will be the fifteenth year of Sacred Wind’s existence. So, although I was not present at the beginning, I have attended nine years in a row. As I now plan my summer activities around this performance, this will of a certainty be my tenth year to be thrilled by the music, the worship experience and to “receive the blessing”! All my life my wise mother has counseled me to remember that “if you don’t go, you will ‘miss the blessing’ “. To you newcomers, I here offer a blueprint to follow at your first performance. I have found that I participate on three levels, any one of which would enable a first-timer to ‘receive the blessing’.
The Music: The first level engages me solely with the beauty of the music, which restores my soul. The music itself is a ‘blessing’ because the selections are chosen by the conductor after he spends vast amounts of time in research, reflection and reverence in order to reveal the theme of the program through the music. Therefore, the combination of excellent, committed musicians under the baton of a gifted conductor produces a wonderful musical experience. If I had only participated on that level, I would still leave feeling ‘blessed’.
The Conductor and the Orchestra: The second level of participation is, for me, on a much deeper level because I have such a close friendship with Scott (the conductor) and have often known in advance what the theme of the concert would be. At various times I have participated from the beginning as the theme, music and scripture are chosen, and the symbolism is incorporated to support and explicate the theme so carefully prepared. At other times I have known very little until the day of the performance. I have occasionally been told only a very cryptic remark from Scott such as “There will be much symbolism”, to which I reply that I will be looking for it, ready to ‘receive’.
The Worship: Third, anyone who comes to Sacred Winds will know by the name itself that this will be a time for sacred music. Although not every number on the program is religious music, the use of scripture and the choice of the music weaves everything into a message imbued with the symbolism and theme prepared with such care. I always feel blessed by the worship experience and find myself thinking “If I hadn’t come, I would have missed this blessing!” I leave uplifted, restored comforted and joyful. I predict the same result for any first-timer who will become a Sacred Winds regular like me!
Rose Sharon Hunt
