The Language of Music

We all have our favorite aspects of our lives in Naples – but for me, the most incredible is the bountiful array of wonderful cultural offerings. We were blessed over 25 years ago when a visionary brought us the Philharmonic Center for the Arts, and with it world class entertainment to a small corner of Florida. Since then we have grown and expanded the offerings that we all enjoy. As one of the newest offerings in the cultural scene – Classical South Florida – 88.7FM is delighted to be a part of the fabric of our community.

The language of music is found in many forms in our community – from the Philharmonic Orchestra to the Jazz on the Green; from Classic Chamber Concerts to Naples Music Club; and from the Bower Chapel to ArtsNaples World Festival. The wealth of our cultural offerings was brought home one weekend last February, when the choices of concerts to attend literally numbered eleven in just one weekend. Where else but in this wonderful place we are pleased to call home could we find such cultural wealth?

But not only do we enjoy the many genres of music in our community – we have the same wealth of visual arts opportunities – from the Baker Museum to the Naples Art Association; from student art work to a wealth of galleries to meet every taste in the visual arts world.

During the many years that I have lived in Southwest Florida, I have been able to meet and work with individuals that are passionate about the arts, and have turned their passion into ways that have made the arts available and accessible for all of us. One very priceless moment for me occurred when I had the opportunity to bring many families to a dress rehearsal of the Miami City Ballet’s Nutcracker at the Philharmonic Center for the Arts. None of these families spoke English as their first language and I was a little concerned about their reaction to this art form – so when I saw them leaving with tears in their eyes, I had to find out why. The reason was simple, “we did not need to understand English to understand the beautiful story” – how truly magnificent the universal language of music.

The language of music is indeed powerful – think of the great moments in celebration of our country and the power of the patriotic songs that we all sing – it does not matter how beautiful the voice – we sing because the words and the music have deep meaning that touch the depths of our souls. Remember the songs that have marked significant events in our country – we can literally teach American History through music going back to the Revolutionary War and continuing through the current conflicts. Musicians, poets and songwriters find a way to express in music what we are all feeling at different points in our lives, and touch those feelings in ways that mere words cannot.

In the upcoming months as I explore with you the fantastic cultural fabric of Life in Naples, I encourage you to let me know what has been important to you and what you enjoy in our beautiful community. We like to think of Naples as a community with a cultural extravaganza of offerings that meet everyone’s interests – sometimes we look in unlikely places but find wonderful opportunities in our local restaurants featuring great jazz artists, or the local churches with concert series that feature world-class performers. Learn more about your community and all that it offers in the visual and performing arts – and while you are driving to your favorite performance or gallery – tune in and enjoy 88.7FM on your radio dial, or stream us online from anywhere in the world at www.classicalsouthflorida.org.