Lessons of the Summer Harvest
One of my lovely summer pleasures is picking huckleberries in the forest not far from my home. Fifteen miles up a winding road out of town takes us to areas where huckleberries hide underneath leaves on hillsides that overlook glorious vistas of mountain ranges, valleys, and horizons. The air is generally cool with a fragrant aroma of huckleberry. Picking requires some gymnastic maneuvers to remain upright on the sloping terrain and uneven ground and not become entangled in low branches and shrubs. The beauty of one deep purple huckleberry, let alone a cluster of two or three, is a delight. Finding an area where one can stand and pick is a sweet pause for rest and repose. This is my moment of reflection and refreshing when the fall or winter is busy and full, or grey and cold.
Lesson: Savor a satisfying memory for future recall.
Huckleberries are a rather small berry even though we comment about finding the large ones. Nevertheless, after patiently picking, no matter the size, they look like beautiful gems in the containers that transport them home. Whether few or many, they are like gold, purple gold! As I was gently picking, I thought about how we learn music one note at a time, one measure at a time, one phrase at a time, sometimes with large textures or phrases, but mostly small ones. Yet after patiently staying with the learning and the gathering of notes and sounds, a beautiful gem is created and transported to our minds and ears.
Lesson: Learn with patience and create with artistry and beauty.
Another gold is the harvest gold of the wheat field lands of eastern Washington where I grew up. Visiting recently refreshed the familiar sights, sounds, smells, and feels of a harvest season. Those tiny kernels of grain, planted carefully and faithfully by farmers in the fall became fields of more kernels that fill truck beds and grain elevators for shipping all around the world. While I no longer drive truck, I still relive the wonder of harvest. I often think of how our music study and teaching is like the planting, the patient cultivating, and the harvesting. Similarly, our leadership roles require planning, managing, and creative resourcing to realize a productive and effective year.
Lesson: Plan intentionally; Prepare carefully; Manage patiently; Celebrate fully.
As you begin planning your year of events, activities, teaching, and performing, may your preparation and patience bring you a harvest of wonder and celebration!
Looking forward to planning and celebrating with you this year!
Colleen Hunter, NCTM
WSMTA President