Musical Thanksgiving

I enjoy Thanksgiving. I understand that there are those who regard this holiday with the same level of excitement that accompanies a root canal, but there it is: I love it.

It’s not only the food (though that is a highlight). It’s mostly the gathering. Family and friends coming together to catch up, have a laugh or two, and share a decadent meal. Conversations ebb and flow, each new arrival adding something until some kitchen responsibility inevitably beckons. Sometimes people bring instruments, sometimes they don’t.

I’m often reminded of music, however, in the ways that groups form, interact, and then merge into other groups, or just gently dissemble. The intimacy and shared purpose of a spirited conversation among friends always strikes me as the basis of one of our most beloved musical forms: chamber music. But perhaps I’m just particularly prone to thinking about chamber music because we’re putting together a special section on the subject for the February 2010 issue of Strings. Keep an eye out for stories about finding a new musician to join your group, how to balance the needs of the individual with the needs of the group when selecting new instruments, and how an intense chamber-music program is helping to shape the next generation of promising string players.

So I’d like to wish you all a happy November 26th, whether or not you spend it eating turkey. How many of you incorporate some music into your Thanksgiving gatherings? In what ways do you bring your love of music into your day?