Music penetrated my soul as a child like some kind of, mysterious magic. Much of that magic came from an old phonograph. Radio and TV came in second. Ihad no choir experience since my family was secular. An album called Cello Colours fascinated me that a string could turn into many different worlds, When it came time to pick an instrument in school I was determined to play saxophone.
"We don't have any more saxophones" were the blunt words from the teacher. There was a brief attempt to equate a sax with a cello since that was one of few instruments left. Coming home with this big thing attracted the block bully so the cello and bow was disassembled but not destroyed. It wasn't long before I could make a string sing but it did not solve the question of the inner magic of music. It wasn't long before I knew I had no talent in understanding key signatures and complex rhythms.

Playing in orchestras I was just one cog in a gear of a huge clock all directed and powered by a conductor. Each conductor conveyed a small bit of magic be it the golden silence of a rest or the delicacy of quiet. By the time I was in music school I knew I saw music as magic was because of a lack of innate talent. The top of the pyramid was the conductor composer and the lowest foundation stone was the orchestra player. I got to sit in with some world-class orchestras but never became a professional. I even got to be in some choirs after solfege training. There are few sensations of such profound unity as experienced in music groups.

In a couple of decades I got to meet some amazing conductors that I still equate with the grand wizards of music.

I still feel the magic even if its The Walk of Life, whisper of a thrill soundtrack or a phrase by Mahler.