While I was in Florence last month - I spent a lot of time browsing the TED talks online, and among the ones that really got my wheels turning was the below talk by Benjamin Zander about why classical music is not just for a small sub-niche of the world's populace, but for everyone.  I know that I'm not the only person to post this as of late (Joyce DiDonato also recently posted it on her blog among a list of other inspiring tidbits about the importance of the arts), but I loved this talk so much that I felt the need to post it here, as well.  What struck me as so moving about this talk was how Zander shows us why all the detail-work we do is so important.  It's not just crossing t's and dotting i's, it's about leading the audience into worlds of intense beauty, emotion, and possibility, and making sure that we making all those pairs of eyes in the audience shine.

  - NP