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Magical Music

I had a chance to listen to María Dueñas playing with our local symphony orchestra. It made for an unforgettable experience being in the presence of such talent and having seen her at twenty. My friend M who was at the concert with me recalled seeing Anne Sophie-Mutter when she was a rising star several decades ago - it was the same thing for M, hearing Dueñas. 

The following week doing mundane chores at home, I recalled how her music brought tears to my eyes and how much this young woman had already achieved at twenty. She was playing along with an orchestra that has played together in our town for many decades - some of the oldest members have been around for forty years. There is something to be said for such solid continuity in a world that has been hit by many waves of turbulence in the last four decades. These folks stayed together and made music the whole time - maintaining an unshakable center. 

They have played with top talent from around the world - artists who stopped by to play with them for one evening, maybe two. Some went on to become mega stars who are now beyond the reach of a small-town orchestra as I am sure Dueñas will be too some day. But some of us who live here, come into contact with greatness in the passing and our life is enriched for it. 

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