When I’m anxious, I calm myself by listening to Satie’s “Gymnopedies.” When I’m looking to focus, I turn on András Schiff’s rendition of “The Well-Tempered Clavier.” Lately, I’ve been looking to escape the tumult of life in Trump’s America—can it only be April?—longing for a simpler time. And so I’ve found my way back to […]
Author Archives: Thulasi Seshan
Thulasi Seshan is a writer, researcher, and musician. She lives in Chicago.
Posted inEssay
Energy and Attention
They’re tapping you thrice on the shoulder, sneering and full of disdain. Look out: It’s the etiquette police! Etiquette can be the trivial stuff of lace doilies and debutante balls, but it is also laced with the potential to oppress. Shared etiquette can set us on equal footing with one another, while imposed and restrictive […]
Posted inEssay
Composers, Canonized
I get itchy in temples and I make jokes at funerals. You could reasonably describe me as “irreverent.” But I have felt the divine. I was in college, and it was a Wednesday, and I was stuck in choir rehearsal. And we had a moment, together, in the middle of John Rutter’s “Requiem.” My voice […]
Posted inEssay
A Private Place of Joy
I love that moment when the lights in the concert hall dim. The audience fades away, and all I see is the Steinway in front of me. Above the keys, in the black glow of the fallboard, I see the reflection of my fingers, poised for the dance. Everything is white and black, symmetrical and […]