By nature, I am a creative individual.
By nature, I am a planner.
How does that work? Aren't those opposite? Or non-compatible?
Actually, I've found that the combination of the two is what has made my life livable throughout many different circumstances over the years.
Today's performance by one of my handbell ensembles is a perfect example of what I'm talking about.
When the pandemic started last year, all rehearsals went on hiatus - and all my performance plans went out the window. Over the course of the year, some ensembles were able to re-start (physically distanced) rehearsals and performances while others were still on hiatus. And even in the groups that re-started rehearsals, not all of the previous members were able to restart with them. So plans kept happening - and changing as the pandemic continued - and everyone's 'reality' morphed on a daily/weekly basis.
One of my ensembles started back with 5 of the original ringers, so I pulled some of our 12 bell ensemble pieces to work on. Over the course of a few months, 2 more ringers were able to rejoin us. Yay - more ringers! Augh - more ringers - how do I fit them into the music that we've been rehearsing?! Ah - that's where the creativity comes in - adding bass notes on singing bells or adding various percussion instruments has enhanced our performances and given everyone an opportunity to participate. But this morning I pushed (shoved? pressured? encouraged?) one of my ringers out of his comfort zone! I had chosen Sandra Eithun's 12 bell arrangement of "Shall We Gather at the River" for our Mother's Day performance. It's a lovely arrangement that I've had other groups play previously. But I took us in a slightly different direction this time - 6 ringers played the piece as written - but they played everything on handchimes, and had 1 of my ringers play the melody on a bell tree! He had never played a bell tree before, but . . . oh, well . . .
It actually turned out beautifully! He went from not knowing how to put together (or play on) a bell tree, to practically memorizing the music and taking the center spot with confidence and aplomb!
So, a little bit of planning combined with a little bit of creativity AND a lot of flexibility and cooperation. It's a basic recipe for success as far as I'm concerned.
By nature, I am a planner.
How does that work? Aren't those opposite? Or non-compatible?
Actually, I've found that the combination of the two is what has made my life livable throughout many different circumstances over the years.
Today's performance by one of my handbell ensembles is a perfect example of what I'm talking about.
When the pandemic started last year, all rehearsals went on hiatus - and all my performance plans went out the window. Over the course of the year, some ensembles were able to re-start (physically distanced) rehearsals and performances while others were still on hiatus. And even in the groups that re-started rehearsals, not all of the previous members were able to restart with them. So plans kept happening - and changing as the pandemic continued - and everyone's 'reality' morphed on a daily/weekly basis.
One of my ensembles started back with 5 of the original ringers, so I pulled some of our 12 bell ensemble pieces to work on. Over the course of a few months, 2 more ringers were able to rejoin us. Yay - more ringers! Augh - more ringers - how do I fit them into the music that we've been rehearsing?! Ah - that's where the creativity comes in - adding bass notes on singing bells or adding various percussion instruments has enhanced our performances and given everyone an opportunity to participate. But this morning I pushed (shoved? pressured? encouraged?) one of my ringers out of his comfort zone! I had chosen Sandra Eithun's 12 bell arrangement of "Shall We Gather at the River" for our Mother's Day performance. It's a lovely arrangement that I've had other groups play previously. But I took us in a slightly different direction this time - 6 ringers played the piece as written - but they played everything on handchimes, and had 1 of my ringers play the melody on a bell tree! He had never played a bell tree before, but . . . oh, well . . .
It actually turned out beautifully! He went from not knowing how to put together (or play on) a bell tree, to practically memorizing the music and taking the center spot with confidence and aplomb!
So, a little bit of planning combined with a little bit of creativity AND a lot of flexibility and cooperation. It's a basic recipe for success as far as I'm concerned.
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