With Michael, my favorite cellist

My husband, Michael, loves music and musical instruments.  He’s not at all shy about picking up an instrument he’s never played before, and in most cases, he can make it sound like he knows what he’s doing.  In fact, when I had my first opportunity to play a harp in 2008, I was reluctant to do so … but Michael sat down to a harp and started playing something that sounded cool!  This ability has struck me as downright magical at times, but I think it’s a product of Michael’s inclination toward engineering and invention, his playful sense of exploration, and his knowledge of music theory.

Michael has played a number of instruments (including the trumpet, guitar, piano, and violin), but like me, he had an instrument that lived in his dreams:  the cello.  According to him, the idea first came to his mind when he saw a few episodes of the 80′s TV show “Airwolf.”  When not being pestered with missions to save the Cold War-era world from disaster, the show’s hero, Stringfellow Hawke, spends his time at his secluded lakeside cabin, where he serenades eagles with melancholy music from his Stradivarius cello.  The image of the cellist and the eagles made a more lasting impression on Michael than any of the rest of the series, and he carried the idea with him for years.

When I took up the harp, Michael started making plans for us to play together someday.  He looked at the instruments we had on hand, and we tried a few of them with the harp, but none of them seemed like an appropriate fit.  At the same time, I was starting to build a collection of harp music CDs to inspire my learning process.  When I bought a copy of Gratitude, a stunningly beautiful recording of Kim Robertson on Celtic harp and Virginia Kron on cello, we were enchanted by the interplay of these gorgeous instruments.  The idea of the cello was resurrected.

T-shirt wisdom: "Say 'Yes' to your Dreams!"

Michael’s musical dream-come-true experience was much like mine.  Once the idea got rolling, it went from the dream stage to reality in almost an instant!  With the help of Wayne Burak, Michael found a cello and a teacher, and the adventure began!  The cello has a serious learning curve, just like all the other instruments in the violin family, but Michael has made amazing progress.  I love the fact that he’s living his musical dream!