Gabrielle Beauregard Song/Book/Movie Piece Throughout my life, I have never believed that one is born with a predetermined destiny. Life is an empty book to be filled with whatever plot elements its author desires. It is by searching through the earliest pages of my life story that I have found faults in my belief system. While I was busily managing the affairs of my young life, I was fulfilling my destiny as a violinist. My life story begins with an infancy strongly influenced by classical music. It had been said that playing classical music to your baby would stimulate brain function and increase intelligence. To my parents, classical music served as a pacifier. My temper tantrums as well as the frazzled nerves of my parents were consoled by the works of Bach and Beethoven. As my Mother constantly recalls, cradling me to sleep never seemed to work, but the Bach concertos never failed. By the time I was five; classical music became the soundtrack of family life. Whether my family was driving in the car or sitting down to dinner, we were accompanied by Itzhak Perlman. It was endurable until the Bach concerto graced the speakers of our stereo system. Then, for what seemed like the billionth time, my dad would talk about how I reacted to the piece as an infant. I just rolled my eyes, secretly hoping my mom would let me listen to the N*SYNC album after the concerto was finished. I still enjoyed classical music, I even found some of it to be beautiful, but the combination of my Father talking and the Bach concerto had to be the most boring thing I had ever heard. When I turned nine, my parents got to experience classical music on an entirely new level; I began to play the violin. I can assure you that I was clearly not Izthak Perlman, but in my mind I sure was. After an earful of squeaky, screechy scales I would boldly play my way through “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star�. With enough classical music in the house, the Bach album of my early childhood seemed to disappear. At this point of my life, I took no notice of this. I barely understood that the Bach concerto was in fact played by a violin; I was too busy practicing my own music.
As I grew as a musician, I formed my own distinct taste in classical music. By the seventh grade, my album collection held more classical music than anyone in my family. My parents relied on me to bring them interesting pieces to listen to. Classical music became my forte, and I would discuss it at length with anyone willing to listen. In particular, I would discuss Vivaldi and how he was one of the greatest composers of all time. When asked about Bach, I would reply that I supposedly loved him as an infant and couldn’t really recognize his works anymore. It was in sophomore year that I rediscovered the greatness of Bach’s works. Sitting on the Floor of my teacher’s living room, I sorted through a seemingly endless pile of violin solos. I was to choose one of them for an important audition. The Eccles concerto was much too slow, and the Hungarian dances were much too cheesy sounding for me enjoy. It was then that my teacher played a very intriguing piece. I’ll never forget the sound of that song. It was extremely fast, quite complex, and absolutely fascinating. My Mother chimed in at one point, stating that it sounded familiar, but I completely ignored her. If I had ever heard a song that great, I’d remember what it was. Whatever that song was, it was my audition choice. My teacher joyously handed me the sheet music and whisked me out the door. As I placed the music on my stand at home, I noticed the piece was written by Bach. I laughed quietly to myself and thought “Wow. At least Bach wrote one piece that’s interesting”. I can honestly state that without learning that piece, I would not be where I am today. As I have stated previously, that single interesting piece Bach wrote was to be an audition piece for me to learn. Due to my strong preference for it, I learned the song very quickly. By the time auditions came rolling around, I could perform the piece to a level of distinction. My hard work paid off, and I was accepted as a first violin in the Saratoga Springs Youth Orchestra. As soon as I was accepted into the orchestra, I realized that my trusty Bach piece would pull me through yet another achievement. Annually, the orchestra held a competition to find its best soloist. The winner of the solo competition would be performing their piece in front of a full audience, at Troy Savings Bank Music Hall. Being ambitious in nature, I quickly entered the competition with my audition piece, just like a group of other musicians had done. With the coveted concert at Troy
Savings Bank Music Hall less than a month away, I feel truly honored to play Bach’s Concerto in A minor in front of a large scale audience. From the beginning of my musical career at age nine to the present day, I cannot say that I’ve ever felt destined to be a violinist. I was never propelled by a powerful outside force, nor have I ever felt that it was my duty to continue my musical career. My advancement on the violin was my own decision. Yet, I’m really starting to change the tune of my beliefs. While rummaging around the house two weeks ago, I came across and old collection of albums from my early childhood. Among them was a particularly worn out CD of Bach concertos. Instantly, I heard a blurred classical piece and my dad’s drawn out speech in my mind. With a small smile on my lips, I placed the CD into the stereo, just for old time’s sake. As I pressed play, I couldn’t believe the song I heard. It was extremely fast, quite complex, fascinating, and the only song by Bach that I had ever found interesting.