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Alive Music

The local symphony orchestra was giving a free performance at a local park a recent weekend. They used to do this every summer until the pandemic so people were out in their numbers for the first time after a long pause. Such a treat to hear popular arias again in the open air. The music transformed this rather run-down park in the middle of the city to a something special. There were a lot of families there that afternoon with very young children. 

I might not have otherwise noticed it but it was remarkable how not one child in the audience of hundreds was fussing or crying. It's well-known that babies respond well to classical music in-utero but the effects continue after birth too. The finale was a zesty rendition of the 4th movement of Beethoven's 9th. The babies around us were fully engaged and listening. In a time when parents are increasingly tethering their children to screens and devices for fear of missing out and enlisting digital nannies to assist, it was heartwarming to see the kids connecting to beautiful live music.

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