In Fall I am starting a new adventure with Max, my dear Max G.Flat, my co-author. Actually, this July we are meeting in Lyon (France) to plan our future steps. This will be a family adventure and Max is coming with his grandchildren, two talented Undergraduate Students, Martha (VR…) and Max (Cello and Audiovisuals) who will help us look to the future. Max is a senior with a young open mind!

Here is the last entry of Max’s Blog Under the Music Tree (Bajo el árbol de la música) that I just translated for you. [Entrada original del Blog de Max] 

I am 77 years old and I listen to conversations and discussions that leave me most confused.

Inevitably I look to my past and I see many good things, even if the younger ones may have doubts about it as I have actually lived through difficult times. However, with a sense of perspective (at my age we have earned it) I think there are things I received from my elders that were a gift for my life. I never wanted my children to miss some experiences, and today I try to pass them on to my Grandchildren. I am talking about some simple things of our family life. Many of them are reported on those childhood diaries I wrote as a teenager under the tree of music. On my Facebook page, there is this video that Georgina made when we met…  But, surely those who read these lines will have their own good childhood memories from times when everything was so different from today.

Those memories often become my present when I “update” the media in which I transfer what is most important to me to those who come after me. Like for Georgina, I care more about the message than the media. I can’t deny that I especially like books, records, a good live performance, going to the theater, and of course, concerts… But I understand that those who are working or growing in the digital age not only have a different opinion and taste, but they actually think differently because they listen and live differently. And all this affects music, which is no longer lived as before. Therefore, when my cousin Carmen left me the task of saving “our world under the tree of music”, she left me a task that we could never imagine so difficult. Nevertheless, I’ll try fulfilling my promise with the help of Georgina, J.M. and my grandchildren, and I face this mission as a challenge, or better as my last adventure.

Because in fact, I am lucky to count on my grandchildren who help me look to the future with confidence. I look forward with enthusiasm for them, and I must confess that with a little envy … I do not know how long I will be able to be with them in this world, but whatever it is, I hope to continue sharing many experiences together. Especially, Martha and Max Jr. have promised to help us (me and “Georgy” as they call Georgina at home) to fulfill the assignment from Carmen. Martha studies at MIT. She is involved VR (Virtual Reality) and brings me her updates on technological advances. On her side, as Max combines his studies of the cello with audiovisual communication… I was surprised that, being twins, they chose such diverse fields of study for their Undergraduate, although a few days ago this video gave me a new point of view and today I bet their future jobs are in the air, and that Technology and the Humanities are meeting soon or later.

This blog, which I started a couple of years ago with my dear Georgina, makes more sense today than ever before. This has been from the beginning a space for reflection on music in education, and in the upcoming course, we will start a new stage, sharing conversations and experiences in real time, and above all, looking to the future.

This July I am going to travel to Europe with my grandchildren, and we will spend a few days with Georgina in France, with very dear nephews in Lyon. All this is part of this last adventure of mine. As soon as I am back I will let you know about everything… I actually wish you could join us somehow!

All the best!

Max

I, Georgina, also wish you can join us in Septembre for this adventure that aims to bring you our contribution for a better future.