Sometimes, everything is just right. Now, it is worth mentioning that there is a difference between “right” and “perfect.” I am not talking about being perfect. I am talking about when a moment comes together with little warning, but reaffirms all that you’ve worked for.

I have just returned from our third and final concert for the summer with the Broome Street Wind Ensemble, which I direct. What a turnout. One of our “Band Dads” stopped counting when he hit 90, and people were still gathering. Awesome. What a great thing for our community.

The concert went well. It was not by any means perfect, but it’s what happened at the very end that nearly brought me to tears and prompted me to write this letter. We played our final piece. The audience rose to its feet and some shouted “Encore! Encore!” With no additional music prepared, I just smiled at the audience, panicking a little inside that we would let them down by not playing one more tune. Then it happened. A few of our high school members spontaneously started playing, “When the Saints Go Marching In.” More members joined the tune, others sang, others clapped. Some of us just smiled. It was completely unscripted, absolutely joyous, and altogether right in every way. A moment of serendipitous music-making that will stay in my memory all my days. This is what it’s all about—a moment of sharing the joy of music before retreating to our separate lives. One “perfect” moment.

Brittany Robinson

Pond Eddy, NY