Firmly Planted Spotlight: Rests Give Music Meaning — Anamaria Micu
Music has always been a source of joy, comfort, and healing in my life. I have sang since I could talk, stood up on chairs to sing at weddings and church events throughout my childhood, took piano and flute lessons, and joined any singing group I could all throughout my life. Music has provided a way for me to sing my heart out to God and say what my soul yearns to say to Him! It has been a constant and large part of my life and I thank God often for this beautiful gift. This love of music has stirred up in me a passion to share this gift with others and I’ve loved teaching piano lessons for the last 25 years and choirs of all ages in many settings!
I’m so thankful for the opportunity to oversee the music department at Firmly Planted and work with our wonderful music teachers to bring our love of music to our community. The FPHRC music department offers private and group lessons for all ages in piano, guitar, violin, ukulele, and drums. Together, we’ve put on excellent recitals where students were given the opportunity to showcase their hard work. We’ve also had multiple choirs of all ages throughout the years. Last spring, over 50 students in 3 separate choirs performed in a concert where hymns were the theme. Each song was introduced by a student sharing the history of the hymn, helping grow their confidence in addressing an audience. Elementary students sang “God is so Good” in 7 languages, including Russian, Swahili, and Romanian… Middle and high school choirs performed selections of modern and classical hymns, even learning “Dona Nobis Pacem” and “Cantate Domino” in Latin. We find great joy in teaching and seeing our choir students excel in their vocal skills and confidence, forming a bond over music.
Our musical performances have brought joy and encouragement to many audiences over the years. Glory to God! The way He intricately designed music is a gift to mankind. Researchers at Stanford University have said that “listening to music seems to be able to change brain functioning to the same extent as medication”. Depending on the different types of music and tempos, music has a profound ability to reduce stress, induce sleep, make you feel more alert and optimistic about life, soothe the heart and mind to bring healing in grief, and bring rest to the body and mind. As I consider our theme of rest, it occurred to me that rest is even woven in music. Beginner musicians often want to skip over rests and not play the rests, but rests give the music meaning. They make the notes more meaningful, give space to breathe, and give order to the music. If we use music as a metaphor for life, how are we “playing the rest” in our lives?* Are we partaking in a regular Sabbath? Are we taking time to rest in the Lord, trusting Him to provide while we rest, enjoying the little things in life? Much like musical notes, our life will be more meaningful and rich when we take time to pause and be filled up to enter back into the rhythm with fresh vigor, energy, and creativity.
*inspired by Lisa Smith, pastor and artistic director of Convergence