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Friday 5

By May 7, 2021May 14th, 2021Friday Five

Thursday, May 6th, 7pm:

I’m sitting at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco. We have the row to ourselves. In fact, the nearest stranger is two rows down and at least 6 seats over. 

Baton in hand, Esa-Pekka Salonen darts onstage to applause – not “roaring”, because Davies is only 5-10% full at most

This is the first time this hall has felt pre-concert anticipation since everything was shut down more than a year ago. The audience includes a couple music therapists, a bunch of healthcare workers, and even the Speaker of the House. 

Esa-Pekka bows to the crowd and turns to the orchestra. Lights dim, his arms ascend, 5 seconds of absolute silence. One fluid downbeat later, Sibellius’ Rakastava fills the hall. Emotion rolls through my body – a light shaking in my shoulders, unfamiliar dampness around the eyes… am I going to ruin my mask? 

Remembering. Realizing. A sense of…relief. 

Here’s your Friday 5 🙂

What I’m Reading
Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by  Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

What I’m Celebrating
My colleague at UCSF, Brianna Negrete, was recently published in Pediatric Nursing. Check out her article about the Ukulele Group for Dads in the Intensive Care Nursery.

Songwriting Tips
Tap into the science behind Taylor Swift’s songwriting: Neuroscience has a part in why you’re playing Taylor Swift’s Songs.

Would You Go to This Concert?
A 5,000-person Outdoor Music Festival Was Held Without Masks or Social Distancing to Study How COVID-19 Spreads

What I’m Listening To
After last night, I’m on a Sibelius kick (Spotify link).

Take care, my friend! Matt

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