Who’s Your Hero?

Our own Wonder Woman!

“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” *

 An offer of two free tickets to a concert for young people was a good deal, too good to pass up. Al and I were quick to accept the invitation when our daughter Shanda called, asking if we would be interested. Since she would be playing in the concert, supervision was needed for the boys. It sounded like a great family outing, supervision duty and all. Supervising would be easy since they have been well trained in acceptable behavior during concerts!  

So, on the Saturday morning after Valentine’s day we all piled into the car and headed to Orchestra Hall, home of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, in midtown Detroit. A large crowd had already gathered for preconcert activities for the kids when we arrived, like face-painting, crafts and opportunities to try out a couple of instruments.

 Soon it was time to take our seats in the auditorium while Shanda went backstage to join the rest of the orchestra. They were close to the stage, a convenient location for Al to take pictures of her since she had an outside chair in the viola section. Always the proud papa!

Before the concert began, the conductor, Yaniv Dinur, chatted with the audience about the theme which was “Musical Heroes.” Directing a question to the kids, he asked, “Does a hero need to be strong, have lots of muscles and run really fast???” There was a loud “No!” in response. He went on to explain that a hero needs courage in order to help others and to overcome difficulties or obstacles blocking the way of success.

Dinur pointed to a musical hero on stage, the associate concertmaster of the DSO who was the soloist in one of the classical numbers, “Rhondo in C major for Violin and Orchestra” by Mozart. The conductor was inspired by Mozart who composed his first symphony when he was eight years old!

Mozart also became an inspiration to Ludwig van Beethoven, who not only was a great composer and musician, but a person who “changed the world of music.” The DSO played the extremely long ending to Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, before performing its final movement.

“Why does the ending seem to go on forever?” asked the conductor. “Maybe Beethoven didn’t want to have the music end!” Unbelievably, Beethoven was losing his hearing when he composed the famous symphony and went on to write some of his most beautiful works when he was completely deaf.

Modern songs by American composer John Williams were also introduced, featuring familiar heroes in the films: “Princess Leia’s Theme,” for the brave leader of the Rebel Alliance in many of the Star Wars movies; and “Hedwig’s Theme,” the intelligent owl in the Harry Potter stories. Then there was the unstoppable hero who was always on the spot when someone needed help…Superman! “Deep down,” the conductor said, “we’d all like to be a hero!”

During the last number on the program, “Superman March.” Conductor Yaniv Dinur transformed into Superman, unbuttoning his black jacket to reveal the familiar blue t shirt underneath. He even managed to attach a red cape while waving the baton, much to the excitement of the audience!

As the orchestra stood amidst cheers and claps, we spotted another hero on the stage—Shanda, dedicated to her family and profession in spite of an ongoing battle with cancer. She certainly has inspired us!

A survey of our own family’s favorite TV and movie heroes produced a variety of results: Al (when he was a kid), the Lone Ranger; Shanda, Wonder Woman; Nate (10), Gandalf from the Lord of the Rings; and  Elliot (8), Kylo Ren in The Force Awakens “because he gave up his life in the end to save another person.”

Then there is our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who demonstrated God’s amazing love and compassion by laying down His life for us. And He desires that we become heroes too by laying down our lives for others…making sacrifices, being strong in the face of adversity, showing unconditional love for others and persevering to the end.

“O victory in Jesus, my Savior, forever. He sought me and bought me with His redeeming blood.” (Hymn, “Victory in Jesus,” E.M. Bartlett)

*John 15:12-13 NIV

Superman conducting the DSO!