Silent Films & Shel Silverstein

Last night, Chris and I were invited to attend a concert by Tom Trenney, an organist from Lincoln, Nebraska. He is very accomplished at improvisation, and the highlight of the program was the showing of two silent movies, accompanied by organ improvisation! The acting and music were truly funny, and the whole audience laughed through both films.

The other special part of the evening was an improvisation of Shel Silverstein poems. He is one of my all-time favorite poets, and I was so sad to hear that he had died a few years ago. Tom Trenney read three poems: Magic Carpet, Forgotten Language, and Dancing Pants, and did a short improvisation on each. As he said at the performance, his goal was to convey them like Silverstein would have if he were a musician instead of a poet. His creativity was fun and exciting, and I hope that he will publish and record a whole set of miniatures based on Silverstein's work!

Overall the concert was completely enjoyable in every way (except for some rude concert-goers), and I was thrilled to be able to witness such a large amount of integration of art forms. When music, film, and poetry are combined, each art form enhances the beauty and creativity of the other, creating a truly unique and wholesome experience. This is how art should always be!

PS-I highly recommend watching the silent movie, One Week, starring Buster Keaton. It is the story of a couple during their first week of marriage - and yes, it was a LONG week!