The following is a true story...

On a cold day in January, a man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. Since it was rush hour, it was calculated that a thousand people went through the station – most of them on their way to work.

Three minutes went by, and a middle-aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds, and then hurried up to meet his schedule. A minute later, the violinist received his first one-dollar tip.

A woman threw some money into the hat and continued to walk. A few minutes later, a man leaned against a wall to listen to the musician, but after looking at his watch he walked away. Clearly he was late for work.

The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year-old boy. Obviously in a hurry, the mother tugged at the boy, but the child stopped to listen to the violinist. Finally, the mother gave a hard push and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children and other parents who, without exception, forced them to move on.

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for awhile. About 20 people gave him money but continued to walk. He had collected $32.00 when he was finished playing. Silence took over - no one noticed, no one applauded.

No one knew the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, on a violin worth 3.5 million dollars. Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston where the seats cost an average of $100.00 each.

This is a true story. Joshua Bell, playing incognito in the metro station, was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and priorities of people.

They concluded that in a commonplace environment, at an inappropriate hour:

Do we perceive beauty?

Do we stop to appreciate it?

Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing? It begs the question – how do we really value live performance of music in our culture?

Marching Season will soon be over, but there are plenty of Concerts this spring. I encourage each of you to attend to support our fine young musicians, and to show your support of school music in this troubled financial climate.

If this story interests you, I encourage you to read The Soloist, by Steve Lopez. It’s a great story and Major Motion Picture, about a Julliard-trained musician who has through challenging circumstances fallen on hard times, and who is discovered playing violin (with only two strings) on the street in metropolitan Los Angeles.

Music is an important part of human-education.