Decluttering Music Mementos

In my last post, I wrote about decluttering my sports trophies. I looked at my sports trophies before looking at the newspaper clippings. I put some trophies in the "to donate" box before realizing what their significance may have been. I'm not sure if I will reopen the donation box now that I've seen the photos and clippings but for now, I have separated the meaningful ones from the ones I thought weren't as meaningful.

I have a box of music trophies that I haven't opened yet. While working on my childhood photo album, I started looking at newspaper clippings to see what I would want to include in the photo album. Along with my sports newspaper clippings were my music ones. That is the wonderful thing about living in a small town. Every time you win a trophy, you're in the newspaper.

Along with the scrapbooks that my Mom kept the newspaper clippings in (shown at the top in the photo), were file folders that contained the certificates and adjudicator reports for each of my music performances in the Music Festival from 1972-1982 (bottom right).

Tip: Keeping things in yearly folders is an easy way to keep track of mementos.

Unfortunately, I put some of my most special newspaper clippings in a magnetic album (bottom left) that has wrecked the clippings - fading and putting lines along the photos.

The clippings in this album were very difficult to remove. It's a good lesson that we should remove things from these type of albums before they deteriorate further.

Tip: Use a tool like the Creative Memories multipurpose tool to gently unstick photos or clippings that are stuck. If it's a photo, which is more sturdy than delicate newspaper, dental floss can also work.

Tip: Before removing photos or items from an album, have a plan to organize and label the photos with any information you are not keeping (ex. date, location that may be written on the album page). Ideally use a photo-safe writing tool or write on a photo-safe label you can adhere to the back of the photo.

Tip: Be ready to keep photos organized if you remove them from an album. Put them in a photo safe album immediately or label/date each photo. 

I initially thought that decluttering my music memorabilia would be simple. I thought I was more attached to my sports days than my music moments. I figured I would keep the memorable ones and get rid of the rest but I am really struggling with that. Do I just keep the ones when I won which was my initial thought? Or do I keep the ones from the music pieces I loved? Or the ones when there was a story with the performance?

As I read through some of the adjudicator comments, I cringed at how critical some of them were. This was a northern town festival. I would say that I competed for fun. The adjudicators came from larger centres in Canada. In hindsight though, many of my fellow competitors ended up studying music at university and making music their chosen career. Just because we were a small town, does not mean that there were not VERY talented musicians. My younger sister competed against Rayanne Dupuis who became an opera singer with the Canadian Opera Company and is now performing in Europe. Those musicians probably appreciated the comments and applied the recommendations more than I did. In this photo that I rescued from my magnetic album, Rayanne is second from the left. I'm fourth from the left. Five people made music their career that I know of in this photo.

When decluttering, Marie Kondo suggests keeping things that spark joy. Is it possible for a negative story to spark joy? For years, I would tell the story of the time I sang a song I loved at the music festival. This is a song that I still play on the piano. I play the original version and if I'm in the mood to sing it, I play it in a different key to sing along.

 

How I remember the story is that I go up on stage to sing (actually we were in the smaller room so not actually on the big stage in the auditorium - I vividly remember this moment). My Mom is accompanying me on the piano. Before she can start the introduction, the adjudicator says "Brahms in French?" (She spoke in French to say this). I can't remember exactly what she said afterwards but I knew she was not happy about my song choice. So much for my excitement and confidence to perform.

I would later believe that she wanted me to sing it in German. It is only now that I read her comments and see that she explains that:

"in principle I am against these adaptations. It's a shame that you didn't sing...[names of French composers]..that are lovely and the real thing. Your effort is praiseworthy. Diction is clear. Intonation is correct."

[Funny sidenote: I didn't know who the French composers were that she mentioned so I didn't include them in my translation above. The next day, I was reading a book and read the following: 

"Bach's preludes and fugues are an exquisite balm for the blues. Gabriel Fauré is a personal favorite when I'm frazzled, and Frederic Chopin's exquisite nocturnes can restore a ravished soul even if a broken heart can't be mended"

As I read this quote, I recognize the name Fauré and wonder if that's what I read in the report the day before. I go back and see that it is. How am I seeing this name twice in two days? The universe is telling me that I should give Fauré a listen.]

I initially put this adjudicator's report in the recycling bin. I took it out to post about it. This is a memorable moment in my childhood. Shouldn't I keep it? I have winning certificates and adjudicator reports that I don't remember. This judge took her work seriously. She was like an early version of Simon Cowell. On another report, she wrote "bad diction. [ other comments - then finished with ] if only we could understand the words - - - -". I can't help but laugh when I read this now. I googled the adjudicator and she had a very prestigious career as a concert pianist (including with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra) and piano professor. She received the Order of Canada in 1980; the year she was adjudicator at our music festival.

I did have a good report when I won in vocal duet with my sister. "Correct intonations. Intervals are good. The voices are lovely. The interpretation is very good. The diction is clear. Thank you!" So she's fair. I'm sure our best musicians had amazing reports.

Most of my reports over the years are kind even when I messed up. Sometimes it's comments like:

• I know this isn't your best! (the judge underlined "know" and added the exclamation point)
• Better luck next time
• with a bit more control, this could be very fine work indeed
• some musical playing here, although not always under control today
• despite some small memory problems near the ending
• I wish I had heard you at your best
• a few slips and some confusion near the end but general effect pleasant

If you had asked me how many certificates I had, I wouldn't have guessed this many. It was wonderful to see but I have now recycled most of the 2nd and 3rd places. I kept a couple of special ones.

Each winning certificate has a trophy.

This is how tall the certificates pile was. I sometimes think, they're just certificates, they don't take as much space as trophies, but they do when there are fifty-two.

Having a photo reminds me of how many performances I performed. There were numerous pieces to memorize and perform in front of an auditorium every year. I am so thankful to have lived in a town with this opportunity.

Reading all the comments, looking at the certificates, newspaper clippings and the trophies brought back so many memories. It transported me back in time to the Civic Centre in the large auditorium or the smaller room upstairs. I can remember walking up the stairs to get backstage where we waited for the adjudicator's bell ring that told us she was ready for the next competitor. I would walk up to the grand piano, the only time I got to play such a beautiful instrument, sit on the bench, ensure I was the perfect distance from the keys. My fingers are positioned, I take a breath and play as best as I can in that moment. Some years I knew the pieces better than other years. Sometimes it was luck when I would play it the best I ever played. Other times, it was the opposite.

If we won our individual category, we received a medallion. The person with the highest mark of a few similar categories won a large cup they got to keep for one year and received a smaller replica. The cup winners performed at a gala on the Sunday after the week long festival.

I'm thankful to have taken the time to go through all the mementos but I no longer want to keep it all. I think part of my reluctence to let go was the fear that I would forget. There were moments of "I had forgotten that"! I was reminded because I had all the mementos.

So how do I decide what to keep and what to let go? For many there are four mementos.

This one was especially memorable because I sang a duet with my sister and my Mom accompanied us. We practiced so much to perform this song as well as we did. I enjoyed the harmonies of duets. This slow version of the song is not bringing back good memories though. I don't think I loved the song, but I loved the performance. 

The following year, we worked just as hard to perform A Lark in The Air. It was so tough to get the tempo correct but we had a great teacher who taught us to sing it correctly. While we were waiting to sing it, I had a little cough that kept worsening. When I got backstage, I couldn't talk or sing. We were the first performers in our group. I got a glass of water and the other performers went before us while I tried to get my voice back. 

It was frustrating to hear the others who didn't perform it with the correct tempo. We thought we could win if we could just sing, but it wasn't meant to be. The way the duet went, I started the song as a solo and then my sister came in with a harmony after the first line. We were performing in the large auditorium and no voice came out until the third word. I could sing the medium and low notes but not the high ones. Being the soprano, this didn't work. We ended up last but the judge gave us praise for singing it with the correct tempo. It's funny that I remember those comments even if I don't have the adjudicator report. I guess I threw it out long ago - or she felt that it wasn't worth writing up a report when it wasn't really performed properly.

There are many songs I sang or pieces I played that I don't remember but I always remembered this one. It's too bad I never saw the film Iris - I would have freaked out! I just found this clip of the song from the film.

This memory brings a smile to my face perhaps more than the trophies or certificates do. It's more interesting to have a story than just going up, playing a piece or singing a song perfectly and getting a trophy. Although I have kept a few trophies, certificates and judges reports, maybe the next time I decide to declutter, I'll be ready to declutter even more of them. I have spent hours looking through the reports, the programmes, looking through the music pieces I still have and playing them. I am happy that I had kept all the things until I had the chance to take the time to go through them and be reminded of what was most special. I just wish I hadn't waited this long to do it. 

That is the lesson to take away from this. In the future, I don't want to hold onto everything for decades before deciding what is worth preserving.