Aisha Isabelle

New Generation Festival-Night II

First came his violin.

Then his voice speaking mutedly to whoever is beside him.

I am unable to see him due to a structural obstruction and when he soon walks up to the stage I still can’t see him at all. He is basically wedged between two large statues, one of which completely blocks my view.

Before the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto begins, I am resigned to the fact that I will be relegated to only listening to him play during this live performance. So I sit back and am transported into the music.

At first, I spy a butterfly floating around then I track a couple of lightning bugs flickering on and off. But as soon as he starts playing the first strains of the opening, I feel a little push- a tingle- on my third eye and I just relax and let the experience take over.

It isn’t until twenty minutes into the concert that I get to see part of his face for the first time. By this time he is more mobile and keeps shifting further and further upstage.

When the concerto is over he takes to the mic and announces that he will play a song composed by an ancestor of his who was a violin virtuoso.

It is a really magical moment to hear him play that. He is such a gifted player and I do wish the concert is much longer.

Once he is done, he walks to the back of the stage behind the orchestra to take a bow.

And that is when I finally get to see his whole face.

SUMMER 18