During the last several months, I have been focused on some chronic medical issues, and closing my solo law practice. I have been an adoption and estate planning/administration attorney for the last 25 years and have been practicing law in total for 30 years. I often think about the big events in my life that have brought me such happiness, and I can honestly say there are several: meeting and marrying my husband Mark, the births of my children Sarah and Michael, graduating from law school and passing the bar examination and buying a 6 foot grand piano.
I think now, I am going to have a little more time to pursue hobbies and interests, including this blog. In keeping with the spirit of my blog, to focus on the mind of the amateur pianist, I want to spend a small amount of time writing about composer Catherine Rollin.
I have had a variety of piano teachers over the years, and currently I take lessons from Dr. Suzanne Newcomb. I will try to blog about her interest in adult students, her sign up genius program to schedule lessons, and what I think her approach is to adult piano students with some level of experience, in a follow up blog post.
But for now back to Catherine Rollin. I was born and raised in Detroit the Motor City. Ms. Rollin is a pianist, composer, clinician and teacher, and is a graduate of the University of Michigan and Oakland University. You can take a look at her many accomplishments at CatherineRollinMusic.com. Ms. Rollin is a committed teacher, clinician and composer. Frankly she is quite amazing!!
Suzanne had the good fortune to connect up with Catherine Rollin at a recent Music Teachers National Association conference. I showed up for a lesson one Friday morning, and Suzanne told me that she had a present for me. Suzanne presented me with a suite of music called Suite Detroit, Sounds of an American City. The cover of the music even had the modern glass structure the Renaissance Center, which has ended up on almost any travel brochure for Detroit, over the last 30 years. The Renaissance Center was the skyscraper building in Detroit that symbolized Detroit rebirth after the riots in 1967. The riots were the results of escalating tensions between the white and black communities, and our community was struggling for civil rights, civility and fair treatment by law enforcement. So the Renaissance Center in a way was Detroit's way of saying, we are committing to our citizens of this great city.
Back to the suite of music, at first when I opened the score, I thought, in my usual cavalier manner "this doesn't look too challenging." Well, as I started to discover this suite of pieces, even in music that does not appear to be challenging, there is always something to learn, and always a challenge to be conquered.
The suites are entitled, The City: Overture and Improvisation, Belle Isle: An Interlude and Good Vibes: Finale. I found that these three short pieces brought back a lot of memories for me about growing up in Detroit.
The City: Overture and Improvisation. When I first learned this piece, I realized that the melody made me very nostalgic for the Detroit I grew up in, especially in terms of my memories. Northwest Detroit, was a beautiful area, with every street containing elm trees that formed an actual tunnel of trees. Our street was filled with children, and all the activities that children used to play, hide and seek, tag, jumping rope, kick ball, snowball fights, playing army and bike races. For me, growing up in that beautiful Detroit neighborhood also meant, carving out my time to practice the piano. No matter what I was up to after school 5:00 to 5:30 was piano practice time. As I grew older, the time would become 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. or even 4:00 to 5:30 as my practice assignments grew in length and complexity. I never had to be reminded by my mom to practice, I practiced because I loved it so much.
This melody reminds me of what Detroit was in my memory bank, but also makes me think of the amazing people of this city. Many of my grade and high school friends still reside in Detroit and the surrounding suburbs. I keep track of these folks on Facebook, and many share memories of our growing up years. The Overture, reminds me that I must keep the memories of my family, friends and neighborhood alive.
Belle Isle: An Interlude. This melody captures the feeling you might experience if you were riding on boat on the Detroit River. In fact, growing up, my mom, Grandma and my brothers used to take a large sight seeing boat called the Bob-Lo Boat to Bob-Lo Island with a small amusement park south of Detroit, near Amherstburg, Ontario. If you went north on the Detroit River, you would come to Belle Isle, complete with a beautiful park and picnic area. In fact, when my maternal grandmother was young, she told me that Belle Isle was often the place she went to picnic with my grandfather.
The piece captures what is like to live near so much water. I took my time in Michigan for granted. I didn't realize how much I missed living near water until I began living in Ohio. And it seems that folks in Ohio, don't even seem to care, that they don't live near water. I don't know, I just know I cannot explain how living away from water has changed my life, and not in a good way.
So this piece reminds me of what it was like to live in Detroit, not far from the Detroit River, close to multiple lakes, and the peace of mind I experienced in owning a sail boat and sailing with my Dad on Orchard and Elizabeth lakes.
Good Vibe: Finale. The finale piece leaves the listener with hope. Hope that the once beautiful and vibrant city is returning. In fact, when I go to Detroit now to visit, I see so many exciting things happening in Detroit, that there seems to be a real renaissance within the city. I was in Detroit, last summer, and took time out to walk along the newly created River Walk near the Renaissance Center, and took a boat tour of the Detroit River. I was beginning to feel a small glimmer of hope for the city I love so much.
Good Vibes also has a rhythmic, jazz feeling, that sums up the sense that Detroit is in fact a musical city. Detroit has so many music venues, and even Detroit has its own Montreaux Jazz Festival. The Detroit Symphony is going strong, and Detroit's Orchestra Hall is one of the top classical music venues in the City. In Good Vibes, measure 9 starts a melodic passage that sort of feels like you are travelling upward. Perhaps upward to more good years ahead for this amazing city, my home town.
I don't know Catherine Rollin, but I think you should take some time to explore her website, and perhaps even encourage your piano teacher, to purchase some music that she has created. You might even consider the Suite Detroit. It may make you even a little appreciative of the beautiful Motor City. Another opportunity for you to be inspired!!
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