I think the reason I'm not writing my blog every day is two-fold: 1. I have this part-time job now and I don't have the time I had before and 2. I use Facebook. So I'm posting what's happening here on Facebook on a daily basis so I don't feel like I'm going to explode if I don't blog.
There you have it. I know you all were wondering.
Week 3 is starting out great. I have been uplifted several times already and it's only going to get better. The theme this week is: Inspire, Commit, Act! The first lecture of the week was wonderful. It's no longer celebrity central around here like it has been for the past 2 weeks, so the crowds are down. But there's some real substance coming out of the next few weeks, and it's easier to find a seat!
Today's speaker was Michelle Nunn, daughter of Senator Sam Nunn who was in the audience proudly watching his daughter take the lectern at Chautauqua. Michelle is the CEO of Points of Light, the world's largest nonprofit organization focused on volunteer action. She says she is a Democrat who was inspired by George H.W. Bush's call for "a thousand points of light." Can't get too much more bipartisan than that.
Tonight I got to the Cinema for the 2nd time to see a screening of the movie: For the Bible Tells Me So. Now I had rented this movie from Netflix a year or so ago so I had seen it. But in true Chautauquan fashion, this award winning, independent documentary was produced and directed by a life-long Chautauquan who presented a lecture/interview about the movie at 4:00. I had to miss that, but he moderated a question and answer session afterwards. The movie deals with 5 or 6 families who discovered that one of their children was gay, and how the families, all brought up in religious faiths that were against homosexuality based on their interpretations of Bible passages. It is a powerful, moving and inspiring film. Very well done.
The author this week is Geraldine Brooks. . . .one of my top 5 favorite authors. Finished Caleb's Crossing today. Her husband Tony Horwitz will be here as well. I started his book about John Brown, the abolitionist today. I will take their master class on Wednesday, and hear them speak on Thursday.
Tomorrow night I'll attend one of my favorite presentations of the summer: the drama department's "How I Got the Job." The acting company will present the audition monologues that they used to win placement in this program. These young people are always from the top theater programs in the country, and after you have seen their monologues you feel like you know each one of them personally.
This afternoon I attended the rehearsal of the Youth Symphony. One of the pieces they played was "Les Preludes" by Franz Liszt. I have a long history with this piece. During the 5 summers I worked at Interlochen Music Camp in Michigan, I attended the final production each summer which was the orchestra playing Les Preludes. It always signified the end of the summer, which was a 9 week season, much like up here. I always feel a residual melancholy when I hear that piece remembering the bittersweet feeling of the summer season being over. The conductor for that piece tonight was a young conducting fellow, Roderick Cox, a dynamic African-American young man. He is a wonderful conductor. It seems he has recently been appointed assistant conductor of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra. What an amazing and uplifting story, especially considering what I have seen in my lifetime in terms of African-Americans and Alabama. Maybe the world is slowly moving in the right direction!
I'm going to fit in my first classic movie on Wednesday night, get my massage on Friday, see another play on Saturday, and still get my choir work done. I hate to relate that the weather has been spectacular. Mid 70's, bright sunshine, cool breezes! I almost feel guilty considering the other parts of the country! But I think instead of feeling guilty, I'll just settle for feeling uplifted. And the final strains of Stravinsky's "The Firebird" coming from the Amp right now are really helping!
No comments:
Post a Comment