Final Reflection- Anika Hille

    This was one of the most meaningful and impactful experiences I've ever had, for many reasons. The lessons I learned about music history, culture, interpretation, storytelling, expression, technique, and musicality will stay with me for the rest of my life. My ultimate career goal has always been to earn a DMA in Conducting and teach at the collegiate level, but after having this experience as a student, I want to share a trip like this with my future students. The pictures and blog posts are nothing compared to the actual experience, and each student walks away with a unique perspective that will influence them in ways they don't even know in the moment. 

These are the three largest lessons that will influence my own musical journey and how I view the craft I have chosen to pursue for the rest of my life: 

1. There’s something that happens in musical performances sometimes. When the foundation of technical precision is elevated by waves of simultaneous emotion. A hive mind occurs between the musicians, and the audience is invited to tune into this frequency. The Elijah performance at the Berlin Philharmonic showed me that a whole new level of music making is possible. I've witnessed this type of performance magic before, but I've never quite understood how the individual elements function to create this otherworldly sense. Elijah gave me a greater understanding of how I can achieve this in my own music-making. 

2. For me, the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia redefined what it means to communicate emotion through music. The whole ensemble was saying something. Something powerful. The emotions behind each musical phrase was begging to be heard and understood. And if you chose to open yourself up to the language, you could hear the message the orchestra had to say. And this wasn't a message that could be put into words. Such a powerful performance that left the audience in tears, including myself.  

3. The beauty of Mozart is in the push and pull, the ebb and flow of the music. Every single intricate aspect of the music has momentum, it has motivation and direction. The Mozart style really shows how notes can be played or sung with a spectrum of weight and buoyancy. There’s so, so much more to the music than what is on the page. The Vienna Philharmonic reminded me of the crucial importance of diligent score study, and how much more there can be when interpreting the music. The beauty is in each small detail of the interpretation that is woven together to form a beautiful tapestry of sound.

I knew this trip would be special, and I knew it would broaden my worldview. But I had no idea it would open my eyes to a level of musicality that I didn't know existed. I've witnessed musical excellence elevated to a new level of performance that has the capacity to connect musicians and audiences with each other, with themselves, with history, and with what it means to be human.