Joshua Bell

Alice (and her mommy) got quite a treat for her one month birthday. We got to see and meet Joshua Bell! If you don't know who he is, you would do yourself a favor by learning. He is an amazing violinist. He was playing the Barber Violin Concerto (one of my absolute favorites) with the Atlanta Symphony two Fridays ago. I knew he would be coming before Alice was born, but figured I was out of luck- the timing was less than ideal. Then, Alice was born with a soundtrack of Joshua Bell playing the second movement of the Barber. (We had it on repeat through the end of the labor- it really helped me to hear such powerful music. I was even talking of its beauty while in the crazy pain.) With the piece of music meaning SO much more to me than it already did, I realized I must find a way to go. I originally was planning on Bill coming and watching Alice for the first half and then switching places. He ended up getting sick, (and Sally was too- Alice got sick as well, which is a big story of its own. I will document it here shortly) I was determined, though, and lucky to have such great friends. I asked my friend Stacy if she might be interested in coming with her son (Layne, one of my violin students). The plan was to have Layne and me watch the first half, and then Stacy would switch out with me. As it turns out, Layne was a little over it at intermission, so we went home. I felt bad Stacy didn't get to see any of the show, but was also SO grateful for her help. Joshua Bell played beautifully. It was totally inspiring- I wanted to run home and practice. It was moving and exciting and everything it should be. I cried (of course) and my heart pounded nearly out of my chest. He played with so much passion, it made you experience some of that passion as well. At intermission, he was signing CDs. We waited in the LONG line to meet him, but I was so glad we did. At first, I thought he looked disenchanted with the whole experience (maybe it was in my head). When we got up there, I was so excited to tell him about the role he played in Alice's birth. He perked right up when he saw her and I think he thought the story was awesome. He looked at Alice and talked to her a little bit in a baby voice. He told me he has a fourteen month old at home. He seemed pretty enthusiastic about the whole baby thing. It was AWESOME!! Here are a few pictures of our fantastic night. (Thanks Stacy for these too- I forgot a camera)

Sorry my hand is in the way of cute Alice's face. I was actually trying to hold open the sling so you could see her better- it backfired. Other than that, how awesome is this?

Me, Layne and Alice before the show. Alice loves to be held in this position.

Joshua Bell and the future Joshua Bell. The one on the right was a bit amused when the one on the left came up and put his arm around him. It was great.

Here's a picture of the signed CD- with a personalized message. I wish now that I would have had him sign the book. I would have framed it and put it in Alice's room. I guess I still could, but then we wouldn't be able to listen to it. I could always buy another one, I suppose. Oh, one more thing, Sally loves listening to classical music. the other day, she wanted to listen to music. I turned on one of our favorite children's CDs, but she was in the mood for something different. She said, "No! Violin music, mama." I turned on the signed CD and Sally was totally satisfied. I can't tell you how happy that made me.