Music speaks to the soul when our tongues cannot articulate with proper staccato.
Few know this better than Keron Bowman (11) with a passion for the symphonic and a talent dynamic.
“I feel like music is a big part of my personality, it is something I am passionate about,” Bowman said.
Bowman has been in concert band since fifth grade, and has participated in marching band from the early starting point of eighth grade.
Being from Oklahoma, Bowman has grown a sense of deep appreciation for the culture of marching band, that is ingrained within the South.
“The culture for marching band is very different there than in Missouri, and I do miss it,” Bowman said.
Beyond the singularity of skill, however, Bowman finds a sense of refuge, an almost uncomfortable companionship with her music. “The same motivation that drives me to be better get that validation is what makes you better is also what puts a distracting pressure on something that you love,” Bowman said.
This paradox is critical and critically inextricable to our humanity. For Bowman, each line speaks a testament to the discipline of practice, and the hope of reward. The mount of expectations, and the serenity of a moment. The cruel whip of the conductor’s baton, and the warmth of a nice vibrato.
Her clarinet is not the only place in life Bowman finds music.
“I love writing poetry. When I do, I like to write in different genres, like of music. The psychological backdrop of what I am writing about fuels my moments of emphasis and declining throughout my poem, becoming louder and quieter, like a piece of music,” Bowman said.
Though idiosyncratic, this approach only emphasizes a unique characteristic of Bowman: the ability to transform the abstract into the technical, and the technical into the abstract. This translation is a means of moderation in a world that insists upon fast-form content, and allows breathing space for the syncopation of experience.
Intrinsically, Bowman then feels this connection to the world as a sort of empathy, and yearns for an occupation to perpetuate this hope.
Mind toward the future, Bowman shares what music has played in her life.
“I find psychology interesting, especially thinking about the role has music played in your personal like over the shape and the flow of your life. I want to go into psychology, with this in mind,” Bowman said.
Regardless the path the shine of enlightenment may take, it is clear the potential Bowman retains. While already soaring, she is a mezzo-piano, vibrating under the surface, ready to crescendo.
May we acknowledge the crescendoing symphony around us. Let us articulate, and compose, and lift, and breathe.
Breathe.
Sound is not produced without breath.
As the orchestra of existence swells out of time, and we move into a half-beat realism, it is crucial to listen down to the lows, but appreciate the melody of the high.
Find the music in your life.
For, music speaks to the soul when our tongues cannot articulate with proper staccato.
