What a beautiful day to play a wedding on Great Diamond, and what a relief to play with D. I last played with her in December and am a little bummed that I don't get to sit with her during Nutcracker this year; she will have just delivered twins. Today we played some beautiful Renaissance [I think; I sucked at music history] duets, rendered more flowing (and more confusing) by not having barlines. Unusual wedding music and completely appropriate. What a treat!
I never hung out with D. growing up. She's 4 years older than I am, and didn't live in the same town, so I only knew her slightly because of playing in youth orchestra. I think we might be truly great friends, if only we could get together. Between my teaching and band schedules her raising 2 (soon 4) kids, we haven't managed to hang out. As we chatted on the ferry, it was uncanny how similar our recent thoughts on technique have been, and she is one of the only violinists I've played with who really inspires me to play better. I often have gigs with people who are great players, but D. plays with her whole soul, and (unlike some musicians I know) when she turns herself inside-out, she's just as beautiful. When I play with her, I can make real music, music that matters more than the people who are playing it.
The longer I know D., the more lucky I feel that we are both back in Maine at the same time and the more certain I am that we should be friends. This is a different feeling than meeting a new boy. It feels much more important.