Ben Deighton
Ben Deighton
I have chosen to share my interpretation of the beautiful Song of The Birds, a traditional Catalan song which was played and made to be famous by the venerable Catalan cellist, Pablo Casals. Perhaps his most legendary performance of the piece was in 1971 for the General Assembly of the United Nations, when Casals received the United Nations Peace Medal at the age of 94.
Casals was known as much as a political figure/activist as a cellist. He lived through civil war in Spain and witnessed his home nation of Catalonia fall into the control of the dictator Francisco Franco. He performed the Song of the Birds throughout his career as a peace offering but also as a lament to the deaths of his fellow countrymen and the destruction of his home nation of Catalonia.
In the world that I am living in today, I see preventable death and a gut-wrenching ignorance from many. While I maybe am not quite as patriotic as Casals was, I feel a strong sympathy for the premature loss of life. So as we emerge in a time of persistent, destructive death, I offer the Song of the Birds as a statement of my love for life and peace, but also of my grief for the deaths of thousands and thousands of our friends and families.
Light a fire (candles are a safe option) - I find peace in watching a flame and recalling beloved memories. I usually do not have an idea of what I will think about, but something always comes to me and it can make me feel an inward, personal peace. Sometimes I think of a distant loved one, sometimes I think about a really good sandwich I had. For me, watching a flame distracts my brain enough to then occupy it with something else.
My name is Ben, I’m 18 years old, and I feel passionate about life and music. I live in Pennsylvania where I was born and have lived all of my life. I started playing the cello when I was 5, but I fell in love with it during high school, when I decided to pursue music at university. I hope to never lose my love for music, and, if time allows, I would also love to learn woodblock printing and the French Horn.