How My Vocation Spent A Vacation

Eight years ago, just after Memorial Day, my violin and I felt weary. I’d just finished one of the busiest Springs I’d ever had. Probably worked on close to 20 films in a three-month period, and managed to squeeze in several chamber music concerts to boot.

So I told my wife I was packing up the car and heading out for some down time. From everyone and everything. Well, Almost every thing.

My destination was the great American Southwest. Zion, Cedar Breaks, and the newly established Escalante National Monument were calling for me.

And in their call was a whisper. ‘Bring that violin of yours,’ it said.

Couple days later I’d been through Cedar Breaks – a must see, if you’re in the area – and was setting up camp in Escalante.

Now this is an Incredible place.

Isolated, rugged, vast, with surprisingly lush points of punctuation just waiting to be discovered.

Naturally the days were hot, which suits me, and my fingers, just fine.

And within hours of arriving I found an incredible natural amphitheater. It was framed in glorious red rock, trimmed with lush, trailing ferns, and it begged for one thing to complete its happiness.

The music of Bach.

Back I went to camp. 30 minutes later I was tuned up, fired up and ready to play. You see, all the previous year I had been spending time with the great C Major solo sonata of Bach. It was deeply in my fingers, and I felt it was time the rocks of Escalante heard it. And what a sound that little cathedral had!

On my way home from Escalante I stopped for a couple days in Zion, the ‘up close and personal’ counterpart to the Grand Canyon. Now, it’s much more of a challenge to do the unusual unnoticed in that world-renowned place. But I found a way.

One evening, as the stars began to emerge, I fired up one of my oil lamps, slung my fiddle over my shoulder, and began the ascent of ‘Angel’s Rest’, a spectacular rock promontory some 1800’ above the canyon floor. I didn’t go all the way up that evening, just 5 or 6 hundred vertical feet to a point I could stand and play out over the canyon arrayed below.

With my lantern hung on a tree a few feet away, I must have been quite a sight to anyone binoculars and a mind to investigate the strange glow high above the canyon floor.

Well, these were magical experiences. And I relate them to give wings to your own flights of fancy. To inspire your own musical dialogues with the natural world.

This is certainly an element I hope will be strongly felt at the Sedona master class. Bear in mind, there are only a few days remaining to take advantage of my special introductory rate on this class.

Oh yes, I’ve also found a wonderful little Hotel with incredibly reasonable rooms. They won’t last long either considering October is ‘high season’. So all around, now is the Best time to book your passage to the musical magic in Sedona

All the best,

Clayton Haslop

P.S. As you may recall, I’ve lowered the number of players to 12 for this event. That means plenty of one-on-one time for everybody.