In this time of uncertainty, music can be a source of comfort and healing. 

At all other difficult times in the history of our region, the JSO has been able to be a way to bring people together. However, with the CDC recommending that we no longer have gatherings over 50 people, and the administration recommending people not gather in groups of more than 10, we have to find other ways to connect. 

A few times a week, we will share a playlist with you, curated by our Music Director James Blachly and the JSO artistic staff. 

We invite you to send music of any genre that you have found healing with us at [email protected] . Preferable formats are YouTube and SoundCloud clips, or share the title and the artist and we'll see if we can find it!

 Playlist #2: We're all in this together

We received a great number of responses to our first playlist, with a wide range of music that people wanted to recommend. 

One of our listeners wrote: 

Thank you for the beautiful message and music. I closed my eyes and took deep breaths as I listened. It was a nice break in my day. Being stuck in the house I plan to listen to this when I am feeling stressed. Thanks again!!

For today’s playlist, we enclose only a few of your responses here to show the wonderful variety of music that people found helpful over the past few days. If your submission hasn’t been included yet, we still plan to share it in the future. I can say personally that I’ve learned some great music over the past few days listening to your contributions!

Tomorrow we will feature the music of Johann Sebastian Bach on his birthday, and next week we will continue with more of your recommendations, as well as those of our artistic staff.

Thank you to all of you who responded. We’re glad that this has been a helpful. We continue to imagine new ways for us to connect with all of you, and we will stay in touch.

If you have music that has been helping you get through this week, or that you want to recommend to the rest of the Johnstown community, please email us at [email protected] .

With healing thoughts,

James Blachly
Music Director, Johnstown Symphony Orchestra
This fourth selection comes to us from Mike Kokus, Principal Bassoon of the JSO.

He writes:

The text was found written on a wall of a concentration camp following World War II. It reads:

I believe in the sun even when it's not shining.
I believe in love even when I feel it not.
I believe in God even when He is silent.

I was working on this piece with my chamber choir for our spring concert, which will now almost certainly be canceled along with so many other musical events that we had planned for this spring. Needless to say, my students were absolutely devastated. 

Before we left school last Friday, I was in the auditorium with my chamber choir. There were many tears, and I was doing my best to comfort them. It was at that moment that my student teacher, Jenna, pointed out the pertinence of the music we had been singing. I was so grateful that she did because it instantly gave some perspective to our current situation. I had been telling my students over and over that "it will be ok," but it took this piece of music for them to believe me.

I am sharing this in the hopes that others might find the same comfort as we did.

There are many worthy recordings, but I'm choosing to send this one.

It is my favorite for two reasons. First of all, it is sung by students not much older than the ones I teach. Secondly, the piece was commissioned by the St. Olaf festival in Trondheim Norway, so I think that it's likely that Kim Andre Arnesen may have had a hand in this performance. 

Hope this helps!

-Mike

Special thanks to March partial concert sponsors Luther P. Miller, Inc.
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