Speaker 1: Stay Calm as a production of I Heart Radio. Welcome
Speaker 1: to Stay Calm, your daily dose of calmness. I'm Bob Roth,
Speaker 1: and I've been teaching people to meditate for fifty years,
Speaker 1: helping them to stay calm under pressure, reboot and re
Speaker 1: energize their lives, and basically be a happier, healthier version
Speaker 1: of themselves. And now I want to help you do
Speaker 1: the same. Ready, sit comfortably, take a few deep breaths,
Speaker 1: and let's begin today's journey. The day was September eleven,
Speaker 1: two thousand and two, which was the date of the
Speaker 1: first annual nine eleven Memorial. Sharon Issman, one of the
Speaker 1: greatest classical guitarists in the world, was nearly overcome by emotion.
Speaker 1: She was standing by the stage at Ground zero in
Speaker 1: New York City, waiting to perform with Yo Yo Ma
Speaker 1: and the Juilliard String Quartet in front of forty family
Speaker 1: members and survivors. Someone was going to read the three
Speaker 1: thousand names of those who had been lost the year before.
Speaker 1: As the musicians performed I'm a New Yorker, Sharon recalled,
Speaker 1: I experienced the trauma of nine eleven firsthand. I wondered
Speaker 1: if I could do it. I wondered if I would
Speaker 1: break down, But the moment she walked across the stage,
Speaker 1: the stress lifted and her fears dissipated. This is why
Speaker 1: I'm a musician. I want to be part of this healing,
Speaker 1: she thought to herself. As she settled into her chair.
Speaker 1: The audience was standing right in front of her. She
Speaker 1: could see the posters they were holding with pictures of
Speaker 1: their lost loved ones. She could look right into their eyes.
Speaker 1: It was so moving. I can't put it into words.
Speaker 1: I found myself almost in a zone like when I meditate.
Speaker 1: I felt every emotion. I was fully present, fully alert,
Speaker 1: but also somehow deeply peaceful and silent inside. I will
Speaker 1: never forget that moment. Sharon has been as a good
Speaker 1: friend and a force of nature. Among her long list
Speaker 1: of accolades, she is a two time Grammy Award winning
Speaker 1: classical guitarist, director of the Guitar Department at the Juilliard School,
Speaker 1: and most recently winner of the Instrumentalist of the Year
Speaker 1: from Musical America. Sharon became a classical guitarist almost by
Speaker 1: default at the age of nine. Her family moved to
Speaker 1: Italy because her father, a chemical engineer, took a consulting
Speaker 1: job near Milan. While in Italy, Sharon's older brother, Ira,
Speaker 1: asked to take guitar lessons. He secretly wanted to be
Speaker 1: the next Elvis Presley. With the best of intentions, his
Speaker 1: parents found him an excellent classical guitar teacher who had
Speaker 1: studied with Segovia. IRA's response, classical guitar no way. Aaron
Speaker 1: volunteered to take his place, but just for fun, certainly
Speaker 1: not as a future career path. A year later, Sharon's
Speaker 1: family moved back to Minneapolis, which is where she set
Speaker 1: her sights on her future profession. She wanted to become
Speaker 1: a rocket scientist. In fact, Sharon's new favorite hobby was
Speaker 1: launching model rockets into the air, but she continued to
Speaker 1: practice guitar faithfully, and at age fourteen, she won a
Speaker 1: statewide competition, the award to perform solo with the Minnesota
Speaker 1: Orchestra before ten thousand people. That experience changed everything. It
Speaker 1: was like a light bulb went off in my head.
Speaker 1: I realized that performing in front of an audience was
Speaker 1: a lot more fun than sending worms and grasshoppers into
Speaker 1: space in my model rocket. She realized then she wanted
Speaker 1: to be a classical guitarist. Sharon has been meditating for
Speaker 1: more than forty years. Without exaggeration, she says her twice
Speaker 1: daily practice has doubled, which is able to accomplish in
Speaker 1: any given day. At about four or five o'clock in
Speaker 1: the afternoon, after I've had a long day, I'm ready
Speaker 1: to collapse from exhaustion. Instead, I take twenty minutes to meditate,
Speaker 1: and afterwards I feel completely rejuvenated, ready for the second
Speaker 1: half of my day. For Sharon, who has performed solo
Speaker 1: and two hundred of the world's finest recital halls, music
Speaker 1: can provide an experience of transcendence. Even if a song
Speaker 1: has lyrics you don't understand. There's something so powerful about
Speaker 1: music that allows anyone to transcend sadness or pain, or
Speaker 1: loss or any emotion. It can bring an audience to
Speaker 1: a place of joy, to a place of peace. Just
Speaker 1: this past week, Sharon released two new albums, Strings for
Speaker 1: Peace and Affinity. I would like to conclude this podcast
Speaker 1: with an excerpt from a joyous Venezuelan waltz from Affinity.
Speaker 1: The music for this album was writ especially for Sharon
Speaker 1: by composers from Three Continents. Boohoo all right, thank you
Speaker 1: for joining me today. I hope you heard something that inspires,
Speaker 1: that uplifts you and that you can incorporate into your
Speaker 1: own life. This is Bob Roth. Stay calm, hey, all
Speaker 1: of you out there, I'd love to hear from you.
Speaker 1: You can send me your stories, your questions, or anything
Speaker 1: else on your mind. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook,
Speaker 1: or Instagram at meditation Bob. You can also send me
Speaker 1: an email at meditation Bob Roth at gmail dot com.
Speaker 1: I look forward to hearing from you