Being Canadian, it is not often that patriotic American emblems, music, or literature move me at an intense emotional level. Therefore, the Ensemble Galilei, along with Neil Conan and Lily Knight, greatly succeeded in arousing my emotions this past Friday in their presentation of “First Person: Seeing America.”
The presentation was a mixture of musical performance, theatrics, reading, and historical photographs. My two favorite parts of the Ensemble’s performance were the excellent music, especially the fantastic fiddling of Hanneke Cassell, and the superb acting talent of Lily Knight. Their resumes, as detailed in the programs for the afternoon, were quite formidable and made it quite an honor to hear them play at our very own Calvin College. However, even if their resumes were a bit less impressive, their performance would have no doubt spoken for itself.
I am not particularly skilled in any one instrument, but I do very much appreciate the beauty of a well-played fiddle. I can distinctly remember one of my very first encounters with a piece of fiddling music, which was, ironically, when I watched the movie Fiddler on the Roof and fell in love with the memorable fiddle melody of that musical. Thus, listening to Hanneke Cassell during the Ensemble’s performance was not only a beautiful experience because of the music itself, but also because of the tender memories awakened by the melodies she played.
It seems that patriotism has little to do with the appreciation of exceptional talent. Despite my initial doubts concerning the uniquely American nature of their performance, the skill and evident passion of the Ensemble Galilei, Neal Conan and Lily Knight sincerely moved me.
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