You Should Have Been There

In addition to being a very nice guy, our new friend Stephen Nielson is a concert pianist, an elder in his local church, and an insightful conversation partner. We met with him last week to talk about the role of music in LifeSpace. We know that music, like visual art, needs to be more than an afterthought. Sometimes it needs to represent the leading voice, the integrating force of our thinking and presentation. But we are most comfortable around words. How might we honor the voice of music? How might we be changed by it? How might we use it for the glory of God?

Even though he sells CD's on his website, Stephen believes there is no substitute for live performance. How can music communicate? He sat at the Steinway grand for a demonstration.

Expansion . . . hope . . . joy's eternal increase -- Stephen took each idea, merged it with a melody, and filled the room with music.

You should have been there. Really. You should have been there, because I can't translate it back into words. We felt the texture of each note as the music washed over us. A CD would be lovely, but it could never be as fully sensual as that moment when the last note hung in the air and we all sat motionless, eyes closed, and breathed it in.

We promise to share. Something is incubating, but we do not yet know what it will be. In the meantime, find yourself some live music--unplugged--and let it speak.

Bob