We’ve all seen footage of flash mobs – an impromptu gathering of people singing, dancing or otherwise performing in airports, malls, parks and city centers. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra just kicked it up the next level for the launch of the Citizen Musician initiative.
Click the photo for more images
The Chicago Children’s Choir and Yo-Yo Ma (who needs no introduction, especially on this blog) – treated Metra’s Millennium Station to a flash mob performance featuring song and cello to mark the initiative’s launch.
I’m still looking for footage of the flash mob, but it makes me grin to think of all the people who got the delicious treat of seeing a world class cellist perform on the same corner they may pass by every day. I’m also tickled that Ma was so enthusiastic about the flash mob. I think one of the things that makes him so uniquely popular among classical musicians (aside from his stupendous talent and musicality) is his willingness to embrace the new and bring the music to the street level (as it were).
He embodies something I’d like to incorporate in my cello experience that I haven’t entirely put a finger on to verbalize fully. Beyond love of instrument, it feels like an abiding love of music, in all manifestations, is a big part of the package.
I dig it.
