Fish Out of Water

           I glance at my watch and realize that the “Listening Hour” performance starts in three minutes. After dodging my way through a narrow passage full of students I arrive at the music building with one minute to spare. As I stride through the music building I finally find the concert hall, but then realize that I am at the performers entrance. I run around the hall and finally find the main entrance. As I try to open the door a young women glares at me through the small window and with her index finger pressed to her lips, signals me to be quiet. Apparently two minutes late, is too late for a performance.

            After some brief applause, five minutes later the woman finally opens the door. I quickly find a seat and try to absorb the performance. A women steps on stage and begins playing some big wooden instrument. At first I thought it was strange that she was playing with what appeared to be four drumsticks, but then I found myself entranced in the melody. The music was actually quite tranquil. It was very relaxing and even made me consider taking a nap. I glanced over to my left and realized I was not the only one that had this thought. I looked around the audience and saw four people sleeping.

            Although I tried to focus on the performance, the interesting architecture of the room kept grabbing my attention. Behind the performers was a strange zigzag pattern going up through the center of the ceiling. Every performance was played on a marimba, which I found out is a big xylophone with resonators. The performances were titled, Eruption of Sakurajima, Marimba Solo, Nocturnal Dance, Azalea and Echo Rhythm.

            I felt a little out of place at the performance. Other people in the audience seemed to be taking notes on the performance, which I assumed was for a music class. I was not familiar with the artistic culture. Before this event I never even knew we had a music concert hall on campus. I really enjoyed the event however. I feel like I now have a greater appreciation for music. I do plan to download the music I heard for the next time I want to relax.

Word Count 376