Editor:
It is well-known that peoples who make music together, whether it be in an orchestra, a choir, a dance or a parade, create social capital. Music is a profound medium which strengthens morale, and helps both in integrating and in distinguishing adjacent cultures, in a loving and joyous manner. Moreover, in the face of oppression, music inspires resistance: it is said that a hymn sung by a thousand defending Zulus caused the attacking Boers to plead with their general to wait until the music was over so they could listen.
As one musician, quoted in the July 17 NCJ, (“The Conductor: Carol Jacobsen and the Eureka Symphony”) remarked, “It (the Humboldt music scene) is my weekly meditation, exercise and social value all in one … the feeling of community in the orchestra is incredible … .”
Perhaps because trees, rivers, wild animals and the ocean are still part of the Humboldt community, that, although far from the centers of culture, it has produced more than its share of musicians. Carol, a self-described Humboldt kid, is clearly making it possible for them to stay here. If the US were like Europe, where municipalities and governments support theaters and musicians, we would be able to keep more of them.
Ellen Taylor, Petrolia
This article appears in Global Solidarity at the Mouth of the Klamath.