I was sitting in a seat under the tent at the Pagosa Folk Festival in 2001 – only a couple of rows from the stage. Bela Fleck and the Flecktones were performing in this intimate space. It was my first time hearing live music. Chris Thile took the stage for a tune, and the magic began. Music transpiring in real time. At the end of the tune, there was so much energy and excitement in the air that the entire audience involuntarily jumped up and started clapping – a standing ovation in the middle of the set.
I had only picked up the oboe a couple of months before this. My jaw was on the floor the entire concert. After the show, as I walked to the car in the stillness of the night, I thought to myself, that is what I want to do for the rest of my life.
~ Khara ~
