include 'VIOLIN' in every resume.

I often avoid revealing my whole resume in simple get-to-know-you conversations.

In fact, I sometimes hide whole sections of my life story in order not to --overwhelm someone.  

Well that sounds like a prideful pig!

But really, my accomplishments aren't really that great.  It's just some of the simplest questions are just ... complicated for me to answer. I don't want to sound like I'm trying to impress-- and sometimes I wish that some of my talents required getting to know me before they were uncovered.  whatever.

In fact, I never give the same grouping of instruments I play when I introduce myself.  And I give different answers for where I'm from too.  So, you might go away thinking that I'm a choir singer from Wisconsin, a harpist from Utah, or a collaborative pianist from Paris.  And... depending on how you react, where you're from, or how long we want to keep talking... I might flush out the whole story.  

Well, when I agreed to come visit a good friend in New England, I had no idea that her family were music lovers.  I had told them the basic conducting and piano emphases at school, but it took three days for me to uncover that I played the violin. 

at which point, my host says 'I think I have some violins you'd like to see.' And the hostess adds (apparently taking my word for my musical abilities) 'not just to see -- violins you should play!' 

I honestly thought that he was kidding around with me when he mentioned Stradivarius, but I should have been more trusting.  Of course I didn't sleep that night, thinking about the violins (okay, that wasn't the only reason...), but it was the next morning when we decided to take them out together.  

The first violin he handed me was the small a 1732 violin made by Giuseppe Guarneri Del Gesú, called 'Ferni.'  I slowly started to get used to it with slow scales, and any excerpt that came to mind, from Bach to Barber.  When I started to improvise on my favorite hymns, my host returned. 

This time the violin was made by Antonio Stradivarius in 1704, nicknamed the Gleni.  I had dreamed about touching a Strad most of my life... I never imagined I would one day play on one of his violins.  The power in the violin surprised me--I couldn't believe the G string sound, and the evenness between strings. The change onto the E string had a very clear darker even sonority that I had never heard before.  So out came Bartok, Wieniawski, Lalo and more Bach--I just couldn't get enough of it.   

Eventually the morning had wasted away and I had to leave, still smiling. What a gift!

... And I went away thinking it was such a lucky chance that I mentioned my love for the violin.  

But aren't blessings most often disguised as chances?