chance, coincidence, or wonder

Sometimes unexpected things happen. Tonight we were going to hear Beethoven's Ninth Symphony except there were so many people attending that it was impossible to get into the hall. A student and I went downstairs to sit and chat in the refectory and there was a Chinese pipa player and guitarist setting up for a live performance. My young friend and I chatted for a while and I was saying that many years ago I had seen a group with an attractive and exciting pipa player. Then in the group's warm up I heard them play a very familiar fusion piece mixing Chinese and more Latin influenced. It was her 8-10 years later! I didn't recognise her but the arrangement instantly.

Silk Road Music was formed by virtuoso pipa player Qiu Xia He, who came to Canada as part of a touring ensemble. (info here) Her music and the fusion aspect is exciting and makes me wonder why Christian worship is so influenced by American monoculture when we live in a multicultural setting. What we need is more creativity and willingness to experiment, to break out of a conservatism in favour of a playfulness. Of course this assumes theoretical musical competency and technical ability.