Music of the Spheres at Pacific Gardens

Philosophers from ancient times used to believe that there was something called the Music of the Spheres - a unique musical hum emitted by the Sun, Moon and planets.

Sometimes I think Pacific Gardens has its own music of the spheres, made up of all the musical offerings in our building's history to create a multi-layered fabric of sound.

There are so many examples.  Last week I was walking through the dining-room and there was Matt playing his guitar in one of the most amazing jazz renditions of "Dancing Cheek to Cheek" I've ever heard.

I've heard David Li's rich, warm baritone as he sings Happy Birthday in Mandarin, followed by Mia's enthusiastic and slightly off-key version in Dutch, and Mykl's romantic rendition sung to Laura on her birthday.

Gerry plays the drums, David Weston the harp, violin and guitar.  I have fond memories of Krissy who taught Braeden piano lessons and played jazz piano in swinging Diana Krall-style.

Then there's all the musical events we've had in our dining-room.  Dennis Lakusta's fabulous house concert, Paul and Jess's irresistably-danceable acoustic rock, and the group of Nanaimo folk musicians who jammed here on a regular basis.

And the singers - it's almost a given that if you live at Pacific Gardens, there's someone in a choir, performing in a concert or heading off to a hootenanny or a choral practice.

We have people in Everybody Sings, the Malaspina Choir, Nanaimo Sings!, the Island Soul Choir, the Vancouver Island Symphonic Chorus, the Nanaimo Folk Connection, church choirs, you name it.

And there's the hum of music from everyone's own CD collection, which you can hear as you walk by people's units or from the CD player in the dining-room that's almost always on.

For a music-lover like myself, this is another reason why I love living here!

Kathryn