Classical Rockstar

Sara Davis Buechner sure knows how to work the piano. In all honesty, as we were walking to the performance I turned to Namita and asked, “ I love music but like are we just going to watch this woman play the piano for an hour?”  To which Namita responded, “I’m sure she will make it entertaining somehow.” Well Buechner sure did. She allowed the music to take over her body and included physical movements that correlated with the theme of the music she was playing. Take Mozart’s “Fantasy and Sonata”, which by the way is one hell of a song to tackle. When the tone was calm and serene, Buechner would hunch over the piano in a way that made it look like she was whispering to the keys. She would merely prick the keys so softly as to not harm them. However, this peacefulness would quickly be overswept with a sea of tension and fury. In these moments, Buechner would let a hand fly from one key, across her face, and to the other. Her movements definitely added to the overall quality of the performance.

My favorite part of the performance was that Buechner did not make it about her being a transgender individual  who was playing piano. I do not mean this in a transphobic way, I mean this in the sense that Buechner put on an amazing show centered around her piano playing, and she just happened to be a transgender individual. I think this is really important because I feel that being transgender, gay, or lesbian should not be made a big deal, it is just how people are born. I have noticed that the more we label artists or athletes as LGBT many people tend to not  pay as much attention to their craft, because they are  more focused to the fact that the artist or athlete is gay or bisexual or whoever they are. Making a big deal about LGBT people is like this is like making a big deal that someone has brown hair, THEY WERE BORN THAT WAY. I am not saying we should not celebrate who people are, but we should just accept one another and see each other as people. We do not have to completely eliminate labels, we can celebrate them, but labels become an issue when you can not see past who a person is because of a label.

That being said, I think it is great that someone like Buechner is so influential in the music world. It is very important for young people to be exposed to people of all backgrounds so that we do not let the history of discrimination repeat itself. In addition, the presence of positive transgender figures is currently lacking in society. Therefore Buechner’s presence is crucial. I am sure that she is inspiring a young musician who feels trapped in the wrong body to express their true colors and own who they are. Buechner should not just inspire musicians, but anyone who feels conflicted in owning who they are.