Playful = whole-hearted music

I'm going to share an almost unbelievable story. Here in the small East Coast city of Saint John, known as a blue-collar town, my partner and I are part of an instrumental ensemble (3 recorders, plus violin and harp). None of us are professional musicians although two of us have Music degrees. We have become friends and our rehearsals have become equal parts playing and socializing (with plentiful) food and drink. And we play all Renaissance music, a period and style of music that we all enjoy. It feels a bit like a miracle every time we get together.

Maybe someday we'll feel confident and practiced enough to perform for other people, though I think we all suspect that our music would be under-appreciated. I like to imagine that those vivacious Renaissance dance numbers would win a few converts, and maybe we'd find more amateur musicians to join us - and that would be another miracle!