Nature vs. Nurture…….(vs. Suzuki……..)

So, I just got back from my eldest’s Suzuki recital. The one thing that I’d recommend to the Suzuki folk is that if you want to make it more interesting you might want to consider an open bar. Other than that all the kids did really well. And then there was the 8 year-old daughter of Raef’s teacher, and my jaw hit the floor.

First of all, Rachel has grown about four inches since I saw her last, which I think was on Monday. She’s just in one of those spurts. Second, she played Gavotte I & II from the D Major Cello Suite (#6), which was bloody odd hearing on violin. Third, she was ridiculously amazing. Fabulous intonation, strong tone, and the poise of a professional. You could just instantly tell that if she wants a major career in music it’s hers for the taking. But how did she get it?

Nature vs. Nurture is an argument across the realm of sociology, bio-ethics, medicine, you name it. Music is no different. Rachel has the obvious advantage of her mom being an excellent teacher and a fine violinist in her own right, and she has been in a musically nurturing environment for her all life. But there has to be some talent in there. I can think of enough kids of professional musicians who show very little interest or talent for what we do. Either the talent skipped a generation or the both parent and child decided that it would be best to be able to utter the words “my son the doctor.”

I worry about young Rachel, and I think I’m going to have a very quiet talk with her mom and dad. Why, do you ask? Well, I naturally worry about talents like this, both that they remain nurtured in their development and that they they have interests outside of music. There is one other thing – we cannot help but be a little freaked out by kids with talent like this. She is going to be looked at like she dropped down from outer space and they’re going to have to be prepared for this, and her parents are going to have to prepare her specifically for this. It’s going to make the social aspects of her life rather interesting, especially when things like boys become appealing. I know this from personal experience (not the boy thing – I’m rather fixated on women). But attending Eastman at the ripe old age of 14 as I did is not something that I would necessarily recommend for everybody. After many long years of thinking about it I’m actually very comfortable with the fact that I’m a freak. I am also very comfortable with the idea that I plan on retiring from conducting in 10 years or so. There are simply too many other things to do, too many places on this earth to see, and I want to keep playing my instruments, all of which are more important than conducting orchestras and seeing my name in lights. In other words, I have a life.

I sincerely hope that Ms. Rachel and all hyper-talented kids like her get the opportunity to understand that there is more to life than music. I am not going to try and dissuade either her or her parents from continuing her violin studies. She obviously enjoys playing the instrument and she could very well end up as one of the leading violinists of her generation. But please, God, may it happen in the healthiest way possible. Of course, Rachel’s parents are both professional musicians in the Twin Cities, and they are smart and good people. I doubt they will be sucked into the “my child is the 2nd coming of Christ” routine. But I’m going to have that talk with them anyway, maybe to assuage my own ghosts………….