I knew I was finished after my bow left the string on my last song and the hour long concert was over. Playing at the prison was one of the best experiences I've had playing the violin. The jail was a setting I'd never played at before and an audience I'd never played for. Although, the prisoners were much like any normal person. You could never tell they were prisoners from their face or conversations. For the first time, I thought of the inmates as regular people, not crazy animals. You couldn't help but wonder, "What went wrong?"
It was a very personal concert and one of the women shared this image she got while I played the beginning of Czardas by V. Motti. She had imagined a plastic bag floating in the wind, getting caught in fences, then blowing across open ground. It fit perfectly with the song, as the beginning is very eerie and melodic. I felt like she understood the song, like somehow she was getting my message. I had told them in the beginning that a lot of people think you have to understand classical music to enjoy it, but that's not the case. You just have to listen, let your mind wander, and let the emotions wash over you.
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