A Musical Destiny

It has been sitting under her bed for some time. For some reason it didn't get sold or given away when we moved house this summer, despite the fact that she has not touched it in over a year. I think I knew somehow that I needed to hang onto it, and that there was some reason this black case with the cargo inside needed to hang around a bit longer until its destiny became known. "It" is a lovely little trumpet, and this week it goes to a new home.

It all began with the Grade Five band at Beacon Hill School. The Intrepid Junior Blogger wanted to give it a try, and so we went into Campbell's Music to check out the instruments. I thought she would end up with a flute or something, never anticipating she might be a horn player, but there it was. We rented it at first, and even found her a private tutor. Then she changed schools in Grade Six and while she decided not to participate in band she continued the private lessons. And then in Grade Seven when she made the move to Junior High she decided to give up band completely, deeming it as taking too many of her precious options and not her primary interest (and since she already plays piano I agreed to let band go in favour of robotics and other similar pursuits). Thus it has laid there for years now, resting in the case, that little trumpet that we started out renting and then eventually purchased. It was pretty forlorn, really, a trumpet that no one played.

When I found it while we were moving I wondered what to do with it. Sell it? I wouldn't know what to ask. Give it away to a school band program? Seemed like a good idea, but never got around to it - and so it moved with us, ending up under her bed until I heard about a new program designed to provide youth in our region who have an interest in music with the instruments they may not be able to afford. Suddenly I knew why that trumpet had not left my house yet.

The Legacy Children's Foundation, headed by local program coordinator Dave Martin, a friend and fellow TEDx Fort McMurray 2013 presenter, aims to provide local youth with musical instruments and lessons. It is a tremendous program in my opinion, as it has been shown that musical education improves academic performance in other areas, and music can engage those youth who may not fall into the "mathletes" or "athletes" categories in school.

Yesterday I reached under the IJB's bed until my hand rested on a hard black case. I pulled it out and opened it up, seeing a shiny brass trumpet inside, nestled there where she left it last. Today I am delivering it to Dave, and I hope it will end up in the hands of a young person like the IJB, someone with an interest in music. It feels pretty good to send it on to a new home, and I once again learned not to question the synchronicity of my life. That trumpet has had a predetermined destiny for some time, I think. I just didn't know it yet. But today, I do.