Background

Leaving Coshocton for the first time opened my eyes – truly opened them. My entire life up until my departure, I knew only small town America. Sitting on my porch and recognizing the person in every other car was common for me – to say I was nervous to leave is an understatement. What did the big city lights have in store for me? Who would I meet? Who would I become? These questions and more flooded my mind on my car ride to my new home.

The college experience could be defined as comical if nothing else. Thousands of kids acting as adults acting as scholars. You’re supposed to find your niche, something to believe in and pursue – for two years I studied god knows what. An interminable amount of classes clashed into each other to the point I could be speaking German in a statistics course. I never did that but you get the idea. I had no idea where I was going; not a one. This was, until, I took a music course.

‘Intro to Western Music History’ was the official title of the class. A very – very – broad study of classical music; starting a little before Johann Sebastian Bach’s era all the way up to our contemporary times. Not necessarily a simple class, but one that brought in a wide range for student demographics. Now, listen to me when I say this, I don’t believe in love at first sight, but something akin to that phenomenon happened to me that quarter – with my ears not my eyes, of course. I instantly found my passion in life; a true eureka moment.

Ever since that class I’ve devoted myself to classical music advocacy. Whether it be introducing it to my friends, colleagues or even strangers; I find myself with a deep urge to attempt to turn people on. My biggest message being classical music is more than Bach and Beethoven – more than violins and pianos romantically strung together. A different realm exists within itself. A realm I would like to share with you.

In 1982, composer Philip Glass collaborated with the director Godfrey Reggio to make a feature film consisting primarily of slow motion and time-lapse footage. No words or plots. Just you, the video, and the music – ‘minimalism’ not unlike the music I listened to in high school, with repetitive tendencies and little to no words. Minimalism being a modernized form of classical music introduced in the middle of the 20th century. Typically repetitive and accessible, minimal music concerns itself with subtle changes – changes almost imperceptible at times.

So this June, I would like to present to you: Philip Glass’s and Godfrey Reggio’s Koyaanisqatsi.