In “My Body’s Extension”, “Shawn” recounts his All-State audition as he played Max Bruch’s “Kol Nidrei” on his viola. When his turn comes and he begins to play, he reminisces back to the time he went to Dachau, Germany with a group of other musicians. They were introduced to a place where the tour guide’s grandfather had been a prisoner due to the Holocaust. The group joined hands and hummed “Amazing Grace”. He learned from that trip that to give an exceptional performance, he needs to play with more passion, pouring his emotions.  As he finishes up his piece, he remembers of all the great losses. He was playing a story.
“Shawn” deeply believes in the words of Hans Christian Anderson, “Where words fail, music speaks.” I understand the importance of these words coming from a pianist’s point of view. It’s not always easy to write out my feelings down on paper. To me, it’s more easy playing it out on my piano, letting the music tell others how I feel, like “Shawn” does. I didn’t realize it until I read Shawn‘s piece. Thank you, “Shawn”, for showing everyone the significance of music.