“I think the meaning of life is to let your heart be broken.”
-Tina Davidson, Composer
Bump In The Road:
Tina Davidson on a Life of Music
This is a stunningly beautiful conversation with Tina Davidson, author of Let Your Heart Be Broken.
Tina is an accomplished composer. Over her forty-five-year career, Tina has been commissioned by the National Symphony Orchestra, OperaDelaware, Roanoke Symphony, VocalEssence, Kronos Quartet, Cassatt Quartet, and more. Contemplating her decades of achievement, Tina notes:
I am struck by music’s linear process, where duration is the great ingredient.
Unlike visual art, music cannot be experienced all at once. Instead, it moves through time.
As we listen, we construct the hole in our mind through memory, like a transparent ghost. Music moves our hearts with its lack of tangible substance.
The path to a musical career was perhaps a fait accompli, but that didn’t necessarily make for an easy ride. Tina reflects upon one of her Bennington College professors:
“He sat rumpled in the chair, his right index finger raised. You must always dare to make a fool of yourself. And then you’ll be able to do things you never dreamed you could do.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Learn to be embarrassed.”
Tina’s story is as astonishing, heart felt and remarkable as her career. Come join us.
Tina Davidson: On the Music In Life
I’ve always used music not only to understand where I am, but also to get a feel for where I’m going.
“In the first ten years of my writing, I think I wrote sort of out of disconnection with myself. I really didn’t understand myself very well.”
“I think that our life journey is understanding where we have been, what we’ve done and now what.”
“I bumped into something and realized it was myself.”
“But I think the meaning of life is to let your heart be broken.”
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