Creating a World of Possibility

In March, I traveled to New York City for the Music Teachers National Conference. Benjamin Zander, conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, gave the keynote address on themes from the book that he and his wife wrote entitled, “The Art of Possibility: Transforming Professional and Personal Life.” A colleague and I arrived early for the session and were greeted warmly with a friendly smile and handshake by Zander himself! He inquired where we were from and took a sincere interest in us. I knew at that moment that this would be a special session. And it was – it was truly transformational.

Zander began his talk unconventionally by walking from the front to the back of the room. He mentioned why people choose to sit in the back or the front row. Often, people won’t choose to be in the front row because they think it is saved for V.I.P. “Back rowers” like to be able to make a quick exit, sleep or text. Those who choose to be in the front row are open to receive (we had hesitantly chosen to sit in the front row!). Since the front row seats were not full, he invited folks to move up into them.

We all have the choice to be in the front row of our lives. According to Zander, our choices can be boiled down to either an upward or downward spiral (winning or losing, succes or failure), or the “radiating circle of possibility.” He said, “The world will show up entirely in the way you create it.” In other words, the secret of life is that, “It is all invented.”

The radiating circle of possibility represents the hope that whatever happens (good or bad) has the potential to be positive. Also, every day can be perfect. When mistakes are made, hurdles or adversity encountered – our reaction can be one of three choices:

1. Resignation
2. Anger
3. Possibility – we can throw our arms in the air and say, “How fascinating!”

As musicians, we play a special roll because musicians can speak to everybody. Art is about rearranging us and opening us up to possibility. Zander stated, restated and emphasized that we as music teachers are “the priests.” Our charge is to awaken possibility in other people, namely our students. How exciting and at the same time, what an enormous responsibility. How do you know you have awakened possibility in other people? Zander says to look at their eyes and ask, “Are they shining?” And if they are not, “Who am I being that their eyes are not shining?” Analyze and figure out what you might be doing or not doing to enable possibility.

To illustrate – while teaching at Eastman, Zander’s assignment, or rather, invitation was to give all students an A, an unconditional gift. The students were then asked to write a letter to him about the person they would be at the end of the term upon achieving an A. The act of giving an A can be practiced in any relationship or encounter, such as an employee, a family member, or a flight attendant. The significance of giving an A is that it removes judgment and creates different options. According to Zander, “the A is not an expectation to live up to, but a possibility to live into.”

I have been trying this with my students and it has worked tremendously. If I remove my expectations and judgements about a particular student, I treat them differently, allowing the student to grow and blossom in their own true direction. In addition to giving an A, there are many more practices in Zander’s book. I encourage everyone to get the book and start creating a world of possibility! As Zander so eloquently stated, “Possibility is only one sentence away.”