I wrote the following for a festschrift presented to Herbert Blomstedt in Dresden on June 30, 2017, in celebration of his 90th birthday. The festschrift was published by the Förderverein Freundkreis Friedensau, an organization that supports students at Germany's Adventist University. Blomstedt has for many years generously supported the Förderverein, establishing the Waltraud and Herbert Blomstedt Prize for young musicians, which I was privileged to receive during my time at Friedensau.
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I first met Herbert Blomstedt in 2015 while I was a student at Friedensau Adventist University. One weekend in March I played organ for a church service he attended in Hamburg. The knowledge that one of the world’s leading conductors—a fine organist himself—was watching me bumble on the organ was enough to make me a bit jumpy. All the while I was thinking about how I could to make a good impression on the maestro: How would I approach him and what would I say to him after the service?
Well, as it turned out, all of the scenarios I was rehearsing in my brain were unnecessary. At the end of the service, the final chord of my postlude had scarcely died away when I looked up and saw the maestro himself hurrying toward me with a spring in his step and a warm smile on his face. Energetically shaking my hand, he enthusiastically thanked me for my contribution to the service and proceeded to talk with me for a while about my future plans and aspirations.
Several weeks later, I went to hear him conduct the Deutches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin in Bruckner’s 7th Symphony, and I had a chance to speak with him backstage afterwards. The concert, which Blomstedt had characteristically conducted from memory, had lasted some two hours and, by the time I got backstage, it was around 22:30. The then-88-year-old Blomstedt, far from appearing tired, seemed to have been energized by the performance. He greeted my companions and me warmly and animatedly chatted with us, seemingly in no hurry for us to leave. To my surprise, he remembered not only meeting me in Hamburg weeks before, but also exactly what I had played on the organ that day.
While I was so concerned with making a good impression on Blomstedt, I’m quite certain he made the bigger impression on me—simply by being friendly and sending the message that he cared about me and my career, even though he had nothing to gain from the interaction. I believe that’s essentially the same message he sends to the audiences that come to his performances and to the musicians he conducts. When he comes out on stage, he has the same radiant smile and spring in his step that greeted me in Hamburg—as if to say, “I can’t wait to share this music with you.” He radiates genuineness.
So I would like to add my voice to the myriad of others wishing Herbert Blomstedt a happy 90th birthday. I am quite sure that I speak not just for myself, but also for a great many other young Adventist musicians who have been inspired by him. That he cares about the future of music in the Adventist Church is illustrated by the scholarship fund he established for young musicians at Friedensau: the Waltraud and Herbert Blomstedt Prize, which I was privileged to receive during my time there. His support and his example help my colleagues and me believe that, regardless of what others may say or what obstacles we may face along the way, it is possible to have a great career in music without compromising our beliefs, it is possible to pursue excellence without giving way to egotism, and it is possible to bring glory to God and light to an often dark world through our music-making.
~~~
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| With Herbert Blomstedt in Dresden, June 30, 2017, at a gala event organized to celebrate his 90th birthday. |
I first met Herbert Blomstedt in 2015 while I was a student at Friedensau Adventist University. One weekend in March I played organ for a church service he attended in Hamburg. The knowledge that one of the world’s leading conductors—a fine organist himself—was watching me bumble on the organ was enough to make me a bit jumpy. All the while I was thinking about how I could to make a good impression on the maestro: How would I approach him and what would I say to him after the service?
Well, as it turned out, all of the scenarios I was rehearsing in my brain were unnecessary. At the end of the service, the final chord of my postlude had scarcely died away when I looked up and saw the maestro himself hurrying toward me with a spring in his step and a warm smile on his face. Energetically shaking my hand, he enthusiastically thanked me for my contribution to the service and proceeded to talk with me for a while about my future plans and aspirations.
Several weeks later, I went to hear him conduct the Deutches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin in Bruckner’s 7th Symphony, and I had a chance to speak with him backstage afterwards. The concert, which Blomstedt had characteristically conducted from memory, had lasted some two hours and, by the time I got backstage, it was around 22:30. The then-88-year-old Blomstedt, far from appearing tired, seemed to have been energized by the performance. He greeted my companions and me warmly and animatedly chatted with us, seemingly in no hurry for us to leave. To my surprise, he remembered not only meeting me in Hamburg weeks before, but also exactly what I had played on the organ that day.
While I was so concerned with making a good impression on Blomstedt, I’m quite certain he made the bigger impression on me—simply by being friendly and sending the message that he cared about me and my career, even though he had nothing to gain from the interaction. I believe that’s essentially the same message he sends to the audiences that come to his performances and to the musicians he conducts. When he comes out on stage, he has the same radiant smile and spring in his step that greeted me in Hamburg—as if to say, “I can’t wait to share this music with you.” He radiates genuineness.
So I would like to add my voice to the myriad of others wishing Herbert Blomstedt a happy 90th birthday. I am quite sure that I speak not just for myself, but also for a great many other young Adventist musicians who have been inspired by him. That he cares about the future of music in the Adventist Church is illustrated by the scholarship fund he established for young musicians at Friedensau: the Waltraud and Herbert Blomstedt Prize, which I was privileged to receive during my time there. His support and his example help my colleagues and me believe that, regardless of what others may say or what obstacles we may face along the way, it is possible to have a great career in music without compromising our beliefs, it is possible to pursue excellence without giving way to egotism, and it is possible to bring glory to God and light to an often dark world through our music-making.
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| Receiving the Waltraud and Herbert Blomstedt Prize in Friedensau, June 2015. |
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This is the fourth in a series of articles about people who have changed my life for the better. For some background information on what inspired me to write this series, click here.
This is the fourth in a series of articles about people who have changed my life for the better. For some background information on what inspired me to write this series, click here.
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