Star Struck by Joshua Bell

Me and Joshua

I'm still flying high from a big outing this week to see Joshua Bell in concert. I had no idea that the beautiful concert would be topped off by getting to meet Joshua Bell in person! 

I. Am. Totally. Star. Struck. :)

Lisa (much more about her later!), who was the master behind this elaborate plan for me to meet Joshua Bell, had all of her ushers make sure the entire auditorium was empty except for Mom, Barbara and me. Then, the next thing I knew Lisa is saying: "Emily, look..." and trying to get me to look over to my left. And there was Joshua Bell walking right up to me in the back row of the auditorium! 

He had quickly changed shirts, packed up his violin, and stopped up to see me before heading out to the meet and greet with other patrons.

My autographed CD! It says: To Emily: Great to see you! Joshua Bell.

My sweater and the CD he autographed still smell like the fragrance he was wearing.

Mom knew in advance of the performance that I might get to meet Joshua Bell, so she brought my favorite CD of his along. I have listened to and received great comfort from this CD over the years. I have listened to it hundreds and hundreds of times. I have very few CDs that, at some point, I haven't tired of from listening to them a bazillion times, but I continue to come back to Joshua Bell's beautiful tone. Classical music has become one of my greatest companions.

When I met Wynton a couple of years ago, I found myself completely overwhelmed and tongue tied. This time around, I was able to tell Joshua Bell how grateful I was to him for coming to our town to perform, ask him who his favorite composers are (Beethoven and Schubert...but really ALL of them, he said), and tell him what a great comfort his music has been to me over the years.  I can't believe how calm I was! 

We are truly blessed in our community to have so many opportunities to see such great artists. Wynton is coming again next year, and I am already excited about that!

Here is the auditorium. We sit in the very back row, where my reclining chair is placed on a platform and I can see PERFECTLY.  There is also a 'secret potty' that I can use (since we all know how often I have to pee!). 

Joshua Bell is one of my favorite artists. I bought the tickets several months ago, during the year of the Rocephin, as soon as it was announced that he would be performing here. I remember thinking there was no way, that in seven months time, I wasn't going to be doing so much better and be able to go to the concert. 

Things didn't quite work out that way, and I felt great sadness as I looked towards the upcoming concert and thought about how sick I still am.  Still, while I struggled with tachycardia and other symptoms throughout the concert, I was able to enjoy it greatly. I actually had one of my 'better' days, had rested all day, went to the concert, was able to sleep much of the night (usually if I go out to a concert, I am up all night), and now I've just been crashing out since the concert!

Me and Mom

Here I am with Mom...who almost managed to keep the secret from me about meeting Joshua Bell, but hinted at it during intermission. Oops!

Tonight, Mom told me that she was surprised I hadn't picked up on all of her 'signals' before the concert that I might meet Joshua Bell. She had snuck the CD into her purse, packed the camera, started asking me what I loved most about Joshua Bell, etc. As I wrote in my three blog posts on Wynton (1, 2, 3), just  being at the concert and being in the presence of such a musician, was enough. Since Lisa had already helped me to meet one (and my first ever) famous person, I really never gave it a thought that I might get to meet another of the world's greatest musicians. Mom wanted me to be more 'prepared' in terms of knowing what to say to Joshua Bell, instead of turning into a bumbling idiot as I did with Wynton!

Me and Barbara

Our dear friend and neighbor, Barbara, who went to the concert with us. She is a great lover of classical music and has come with us to all of my big concert outings over the past couple of years. She was there when I met Wynton too!

Me and Lisa!

And finally, a photo of and a tribute to, Lisa. Someday she will tell me the story of how she managed to get Joshua Bell to meet me! 

When I go to a concert, it is a huge ordeal. I never know how I am going to feel. I buy the tickets months in advance and pray that I'll be able to go. Mom has to take my reclining chair to the theatre in advance of the concert. Lisa has a wooden platform that is placed in the back row with the chair on it. 

When I arrive at the theater, somehow Lisa finds us in the crowds and escorts us immediately back to the seating area, even before others have been let into the house. This way, I'm not exhausted before the concert even starts! She checks on us, chats with us, and makes sure her staff are completely aware of and in tune to our needs. 

When the concert is over and the house has been cleared, she makes sure her staff are ready to carry the reclining chair out to our car, has a path through the crowds for my wheelchair, and a staff member ready to open the doors for us. 

I spend the days before the concert resting, and the days after crashing out. So, it has to be an outing worth that much energy!

Seriously. I'm crying writing this. What is so humbling about all of this is that Lisa does everything intuitively. She does it without asking for anything in return (except a big huge hug, which I am happy to oblige!). Everything that needs to be done to make it possible for me to attend a concert occurs so seamlessly that I don't even realize all of the effort that was put into it behind the scenes until I arrive home. 

So much organization and effort goes into making it possible for me--one person--to attend a concert. Lisa has an entire staff and thousands of patrons to attend to.

Cover of the Program

When I arrive at the concert Lisa is ready and waiting with a huge smile and a huge hug. Her true gift is doing all of what is necessary for me to come to a concert without making me feel that I am a burden in any way. She and her staff attend to my needs, but somehow I don't feel that my disability matters. In fact, I don't feel like that is at all what Lisa sees. It took so much for me to make the call to her in regards to attending my first concert as a person with a disability a couple of years ago, and Lisa has made every outing a joyful and wonderful experience. 

I don't have to spend any of my energy worrying about how I am going to navigate the crowds or if I will have to sit up and wait too long or not be able to get to a nearby bathroom. I just get to go to the concert and everything is taken care of. I don't know how Lisa knows so perfectly what I need to make going to a concert possible, but she does!

Brahams, Schubert, Grieg, and extras at the end, including Chopin's Nocturne, which is on the CD I have.

Maybe my body isn't functioning the way I had thought it might be when I ordered the Joshua Bell tickets several months ago. I didn't walk in myself and sit up in 'regular' seats like I had dreamed about.     

But a little village of people created a different dream, one that lifted me out of my sadness, and gave me memories to cherish during my difficult days. I admit, I felt a bit like a princess when I went to the concert and met Joshua Bell. 

While much of me feels undeserving of Lisa's immense kindness and doesn't really understand why she spoils me so much, I will say that she has gifted me more than she will ever know. She is like a little angel that swoops in during my darkest times and finds a way to lift me up and remind me what is beautiful in life. The power of the moments she has created--the light in the darkness--cannot be underestimated.

I am so grateful for this outing--the gift of the music, the gift of meeting Joshua Bell, the gift of Lisa, the gift of Mom and Barbara, the gift of feeling well enough to enjoy the concert, the gift of living in a community that values the arts--that it will help to carry me through my many homebound days. And keep me looking forward to my next outing to a concert!

Still Star Struck and feeling immensely blessed,

Emily