Written: 7-21-25
After attending Traverse City Philharmonic “Movie Magic” Concert at the Civic Center
Bouncing in his lawn chair, the toddlers stick danced in the air. To him, a magic wand brought to life by the music of the orchestra on stage.
Above, filtered through the thick oak canopy, the suns rays scattered on the listeners sprawled across the grassy amphitheater. The sounds of the single violin held our emotions, suspended in the air. With each turn of the chords, a shifting pallete of feeling washed over us. Then the orchestra in the background swelled, striking like rogue wave across the bow in the night.
A hint of the familiar melody teased our ears from the flutes. And finally, the main theme entered like an old familiar friend back from a long stay away. Replaying old memories and igniting old feelings we’d forgotten that moved us so deeply once, long long ago. Like traveling down a trail after a voyage so long you’d forgotten the smells and sounds of home. And coming round a bend, to see the old shire, just like it’d always been and like youd seen it hundreds, no thousands of times before. And the strings fill the moment with a familiar kind of wonder, stretching your heart with every yawning note.
What else is there to do but grin, and feel grateful that music can instantly transport us across any distance, any span of time, to moments we’d forgotten were still echoing around inside us.
Heres to the musicians, who practice this ancient craft for years to make for us a magical few hours now and again.
