The wind blew my long hair over my shoulders as I played a lingering glissando for Somewhere Over the Rainbow. It felt epic.
Of course that wind was coming from an oscillating floor fan in the dining room of an extremely warm senior living facility. The spinning plastic was absolutely crucial to keep my youthful glow from turning into a shower of sweat. So epic is a relative term. . .
In all the travels we do, temperature change is the hardest for the harp. Since my harps are mostly made of natural substances, unsealed wood and gut strings, they dislike sudden changes in heat and humidity. It makes them temperamental and wreaks havoc on the tuning. Rather the same effect weather has on me.
But I play out doors in all weathers from a steamy June to biting October. I play indoors on spot lit stages, by air conditioning vents in chilly reception halls or in heated nursing facilities that seem to want to make all the residents that didn’t go to Florida for the winter think that Florida has come to them. I was very grateful for that floor fan!
Audiences often match their environments. Guests in chilled reception halls tend to ignore the musician while my warmest receptions are usually from seniors in those dining room oven bakes. These sudden changes can make me temperamental, worried that I’m doing something wrong or overly pleased I’ve done something right. It is hard to maintain my internal temperature.
Sometimes following your calling brings you to warm applause, sometimes it leaves you out in the cold. Only by the grace of God, constant re-tuning and the wind of the Holy Spirit can we continue making beautiful music in all kinds of weather.