Great musicians can inspire students of music to improve their own playing and artistry. I experienced this myself in 2017 when, as a novice piano student, I went to see the world-renowned pianist Lang Lang on tour. I was awestruck by his technical skill, fluidity,...
When was the last time you leaped to your feet to applaud artists performing live in a theater? It seems like forever ago for me. That void was recently filled to the brim in downtown Orlando, Florida, when I attended two performances by local ballet companies of...
Performers who love what they do can invoke a pure, soul-fueling joy in their audiences. Two performers who exemplify this are Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. The pair starred together in ten musical films between 1933 and 1949. Astaire and Rogers were both...
“A gracefully effortless floating, flowing and flying are the essentials of the ballet’s image of man. It projects a fragile kind of strength and a certain inflexible precision.” ― Ayn Rand, The Romantic Manifesto Swan Lake has captivated audiences for more than a...
There are few things as wonderful to watch as musicians playing live and clearly loving every moment of it. A great musical performance, especially in an energetic genre like heavy metal, requires far more than just going on stage and playing a song. It’s a...
Many of us listen to music as we work, study, exercise, or read, and this can enhance our enjoyment of these activities. However, when I want to truly enjoy a song, especially an instrumental piece, I sit back and listen to it with my eyes closed. Focusing on the...
We're going to stumble, make mistakes, I'm sure more than a few before we find our footing, but we're going to learn from those mistakes. That's what being human is all about. —Captain Jonathan Archer, “Star Trek: Enterprise—Shockwave: Part 2” (2002) Star Trek has...
The sight of an achievement [is] the greatest gift that a human being could offer to others. —Ayn Rand. This week for Soul-Fuel Friday, I’d like to share three powerful performances by Angelina Jordan. This thirteen-year-old Norwegian singer recently...
When I was young, my father introduced me to many Western films. Although I didn’t realize it at the time, movies such as The Good, The Bad and the Ugly, My Name is Nobody, and Death Rides a Horse portrayed powerful themes of heroism, justice,...