I have mixed feelings about making resolutions; I think I've blogged about it before. Usually their biggest downside is that they aren't kept. By February or March I have often forgotten what my resolution was supposed to be. This past year, I didn't make any resolutions exactly, but I did decide to see more concerts. I love good music; it truly feeds my soul. A good concert is the best escape I know from my life and my problems. So, I made a conscious decision to attend more concerts and for once, I have kept my promise. I have been to the following in 2019:
-Lauren Daigle
-The Tenors
-Pentatonix
-Chris Tomlin
-For King And Country
-Brian Doerksen
-Itzhak Perlman
-Andrea Bocelli
-Sheku Kanneh-Mason
-the VOS choir
-the Messiah
-The Good Noise Vancouver Gospel Choir
-four different shows at Frankie's Jazz Club
Most of the concerts have been fantastic. The only two I would not see again are Itzhak Perlman because he was so expensive and the Messiah because frankly, I think it's overrated and too long. In the past few months since my dad's cancer diagnosis I have attended quite a few concerts and they have provided a total escape while at the same time filling me up. Brian Doerksen's concert was the release of his Christmas cd and I am pretty sure that he performed all the songs from the album. I loved every minute. The music was good, he had a band and a string orchestra. He had great guests artists sing duets with him. And I got to spend time with Dee; we had a lovely dinner together before the concert.
Attending the Good Noise Christmas concert was exactly the therapy that I needed the week that my dad died. First of all the venue (Christ Church Cathedral) is stunning. Second, I have friends in the choir and seeing them and their joy in singing was infectious. Finally, the music transported me somewhere else. I was able to forget my sorrow. I actually thought twice about attending though, because I wondered what people would think. Would they think I was cold and heartless to attend a concert 3 days after my dad died? But then I decided they could think whatever they wanted. Music is healing for me like nothing else. It was also healing for my father and there were many times during his illness that he asked for music. My dad would totally have understood why a concert was in fact exactly what I needed. So, I went to the concert and it was perfect. I may have cried during one song, but who cares!? Thank God for the gift of music.
