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Watch Morgen Conduct the Charlotte Symphony!
Jun 10, 2019By Morgen, 99.7 The Fox
I am so in love with the Charlotte Symphony. Not just because they have asked me twice now to guest conduct, but for the incredible force of nature that they are collectively. I cannot refer to the Charlotte Symphony as an "It" for "It" is more than that. "THEY", the members of the Charlotte Symphony enjoy what they do, because I've seen their smiles at intermission. Each one of these musicians has a gift they choose to share, a gift that was once given to them; that in turn became a source of love and light: the gift of music. What cannot be said in words, CAN be said with song; and Saturday night, our Charlotte Symphony, in collaboration with Windborne Music and Tony Vincent presented a tribute to Queen that would have left Freddie Mercury himself cheering for more.
I'm not sure if there is such a thing as a Symphony Groupie, but I'm ready to sign up. I'm not exactly sure what such a gig would entail; what does one do to spiff members of a symphony? Chocolate always seems to be a winner, but offering food to strangers is a bit off putting. A gift bundle of reeds, rosin and chapstick? "May I polish your Oboe?" My apologies for that squirrel trail.
For some reason, this group of artists who have been honing their skills over a lifetime thought it might be fun to bring me back for this night to guest conduct on "Crazy Little Thing Called Love." Seriously, they had me do this once before when they did a tribute to David Bowie and, THEY WERE ASKING ME BACK? Maybe they just needed me to talk about it, I don't care...I'M SO IN!!!! I was in for any person who ever chickened out and regretted it later. I was in for the 8 year old me who longed to be cast in "Fiddler on the Roof." I was in for Freddie Mercury whom I've come to convince myself wrote "Radio Gaga" just for me. THAT MUSIC. That Man. That kind of magic, and I got to be right in the center of it if I wanted to.
There was a little detail this time though, they didn't want me to come to rehearsal. Insert big eyed emoji here. I couldn't imagine doing this without going through it at least once but I wasn't going to allow that to stop me from doing it. Fine, I'll listen to the song on youtube and imagine I'm conducting. In the end, I think we all had a good time. I know I had a moment I'll never forget. Maybe I should tell them I can sing? Nah, we'll just keep that under wraps for now. Dream big my friend. Someone may be dreaming a dream for you bigger than you ever imagined. Much love, Morgen
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