I am ready to share with you the inspiration that ‘came’ to me.
I teach piano and guitar lessons in my home. Whenever a new student learns a piece or masters 3 chords I always joke that I’m going to take them down to the train station and we are going to make some money busking!
Each year I struggle to come up with a program and venue for our Christmas recital. I encourage my students to share their music as a gift and a to instil in them a sense of giving back. In the past we have performed our recitals in a seniors home, always a fun experience. I’ve hosted a Christmas recital in my home quite a few times and the students and I have come up with some pretty creative and also tear-jerking programs.
I recently saw Sarah McLachlan on TV. in an interview where she was explaining that she has a music school that teaches kids who can’t afford music lessons. That really impacted me. I was a kid who was desperate for music lessons. I befriended kids who had pianos and specifically to have them teach me to play whatever they were playing. I was so fortunate to have music lessons in school. I learned guitar on my own and got lessons on the recorder, the ukulele and the guitar at school. When I pursued my own lessons as an adult, I was so glad to have at least those lessons as my foundation.
As I was pondering what to do this year, my words about busking were practically shouted at me from the heavens. A truly awesome, yet weird experience. ‘Not ‘words’ as we hear them, but a ‘knowing;’ a ‘pressing of a vision’ into myself. Hard to use words to explain ‘woo woo’ kinds of things. But, if you’ve ever experienced ‘woo woo’, then you know what I mean.
The ‘image’ I had was of us performing our recital at the train station and collecting money for Sarah McLachlan’s school of music. I mean the inspiration just combined everything I had intentioned: being creative, sharing our music, and giving back!
There is always elbow grease required when making a dream come true. For me the challengers were getting City Transit approval, student participation and Parental Consent. These were relatively easy to accomplish.
With inspiration there is also fear to conquer. Right on the heels of the euphoria was doubt and fear. I have not conquered these, but I am managing! The inspiration was a gift delivered to me as if it already existed. So cool.
If you happen to be passing through the Dalhousie train station (4785 Dalhousie Dr. NW. Calgary, AB) on December 17 between 6:30 and 7:30 p.m., you will see us offering our Christmas songs, fundraising for music lessons for other kids. Your donations will be gratefully accepted and will be forwarded to Sarah’s school. http://www.sarahschoolofmusic.com