I was upstairs working at my desk when one of my favorite pieces of classical music came on the radio station we like to stream. I ran to the top of the stairs and shouted down to LeAnn because it’s one of her favorites too. A moment later, I heard it coming from her computer at the kitchen table and I went downstairs where I pulled her out of her chair briefly for a sort of slow dance, and then we sat and listened together with our eyes closed.
The piece is “Nimrod” from Edward Elgar’s “Enigma Variations.” It’s four minutes of musical splendor. We hear it occasionally at Wilshire played by Jeff Brummel on the organ or even by the organ with the Carillon Ringers. But I like it best when Wilshire Winds plays it, because as a member of that group, I get to sit in the middle of it and experience it from the inside out. More than that, I get to be a small part of it.
When we play “Nimrod” or any other piece for that matter, I’m just one of 20 to 30 people who are contributing to the whole. If it was just me playing my part alone, it wouldn’t be anything worth hearing. And if it was the whole ensemble playing without me playing my part, it would be incomplete. All the parts are needed for it to sound the way the composer intended.
That’s true in so many aspects of life. There’ll always be a time and place for individuals to shine, but more often than not it’s a team effort that brings the results we want. Football season is coming fast and in recent years I’ve heard coaches and players talk about that dynamic with their 11-member offensive and defensive squads. They say, “If each player takes care of their one-eleventh,” the game will go according to plan.
I’ve noticed there’s a bit of a sports theme at Wilshire with “Fall Kickoff” this Sunday as events and activities return to their familiar schedules. Later in the fall, there’ll be the annual push to fill the committees that help the church function. I’ve served on the Committee on Committees that works through that process, and believe me when I say that fresh faces and energy are always needed.
More broadly, a visioning process that began earlier this year will take center stage soon as the Wilshire community looks at who we are, where we’ve been, and where we want to go together in the future. There’ll be lots of opportunities for input and participation from “every body” as we say.
If you’ve been thinking about playing more of a role in the Wilshire community, there’s never been a better time to turn those thoughts into action. Oh, and if you played in a band way back when and have been itching to get back into music, there’s plenty of room for you in Wilshire Winds.