I am a music geek.

Here at the office about half of us are music geeks. I work at a Symphony, so this fact is not surprising. Because we're networked iTunes has that crazy thing were you can share music over a network. And occasionally some of my co-workers will have their iTunes open and their music shared over the network.

So today I opened the program desiring a little bit of something to lighten up the monotony. And then I saw that two coworkers were online with their music. Sweet deal. Now frequently it's tricky to listen to music at work. First I sit at the front/reception desk. So any music I have on is totally out there for anyone and everyone to listen to. Its not an issue because during work hours I only put on Classical music (and easily accessible at that) at low volumes. However those low volumes can cause issues because to really appreciate any good music you need volume so that you can hear the lows and the highs. My point with all of this is that I don't often play the music that they have just because a lot of it is good stuff that isn't just background music. It needs to be listened to to be appreciated.

But I figured I'd listen to some of our operations director's music anyway. Having been in the business of classical music for longer than I've been alive he has a good collection of good music. Just scrolling through the list Prokofiev's Alexander Nevsky caught my eye (not the original film version but a cantata that he arranged after the film score).

The reason it caught my eye is rather convoluted and amusing (to me). You see back in the good old high school days I was pretty much the epitome of band geek-ness. Marching band was pretty much life. And our director happened to be an IUP grad and so we (the marching band) were pretty much just a mini IUP wannabe. So I had 2 CD's of the IUP marching band's music. And on one of them there was a track called Alexander Nevsky. It seems they used it as like a football game stand music song, generally for like the entrance of the team. And I've always loved that version. IUP is just phenomenal at having the most gorgeous and rich sound, even for what for most bands are throw-away performances. Plus using old classics is just an IUP thing that I think is pretty sweet.

So I was listening to this piece as I went about my tasks and most of it I'd never heard, as to be expected. But I really loved it. This is not surprising as I already knew I have a thing for that kind of modern but still old style in the accessibility and strong harmonic structure just with a lot of color. Plus the whole movie music thing, and well I have a thing for Russians.

It's a phenomenal piece.

And as I was there really only half able to pay attention to this stirring music I found it to be really sad. How much amazing music is out there that we never get a chance to listen to? How many brilliant moments do we miss.

Now my brain has progressed on to where this isn't just about music anymore. It's about all of life. How many experiences, how much living do we miss out on?


....




When I started writing this I had my same old 'cheap' mostly pop/rock music playing. But I realized how idiotic I was being and tried to track down some Alexander Nevsky streaming from the net. Illegal most likely (which I really do disprove of, its the music business major side of me) but alas here you are:
http://www.arts.iup.edu/music/legend/# under traditional listen to Nevsky

Wow, I'd forgotten how much I love that song.

After you've been blowing away but Nevsky listen to Salvation is Created, and Grace. Then hit the 'eject' button to move back to the main screen and choose '2000'. Play 'No_Leaf" and enjoy rocking out to Metallica marching band style. Those songs my dears are one of the reasons to be alive.