The Creation of a Musical by Patrick Kimmell (Part 3)

Author of “Two Lives to a Destiny”

Edited by Vaughn Harbin.

Flashback

• Let’s bullet point this…
• I began playing piano at 30 years old and got very good at it, very fast.
• 5 months later, played Moonlight Sonata and my own sonata called, “The Dream”, at my first recital.
• Traumatized by this event, an old wound came back to life and unfortunately, the idea of becoming a pianist was no longer possible.

Part Three

By the end of summer 1996, my piano had simply become a piece of furniture in my home. Though very disappointed about the hand that had been dealt to me, there wasn’t a whole lot I could do about it. Not that I hadn’t tried getting back into playing my piano. It simply didn’t work for me anymore, and the harder I tried the worse it became. From 1994 to 1996, although extremely passionate about becoming a piano player, I could not beat this.
At the beginning of September, my spouse and I had a little chat about my piano. The idea was, since this piano was the top of the line, and I still could get a fair amount of money back by selling it, this would be a good way to stop torturing myself and turn the page. It seemed very apparent in my home that the new me was frustrated with not being able to play this instrument anymore. I had also begun distancing myself from it, slowly but surely. And so, I regretfully put an ad in the newspaper, and agreed to put an end to this chapter in my life.

Passion does not help you in tough moments like this; rather, it makes life feel much worse when you’re trying to convince yourself that you’re doing the right thing. The right thing at that time seemed to be to sell the only element that brought me this passion to begin with. So, there was this little imaginary guy on my shoulder, telling me that this was most definitely a bad decision, and I knew very well it was. Next, the guilt sank in. I considered removing the ad, but was tired of torturing myself, so I didn’t. Then, the phone rang, and it was someone interested in buying my piano, a very well-known artist in Quebec.

This lady’s name was Rose Ouellette, more well-known by her stage name, “La Poune”, a Quebec actress, comedian, theatre manager and artistic director. Someone had called and spoken to my spouse on her behalf, asking details about my piano. The way I understood the conversation was, this was exactly the piano they were looking for. That being the case, they had agreed to come to our house Saturday, September 14th, 1996, to try out the piano. Well, I didn’t feel too good about that, but at least it would end my anxiety and finally close the chapter on wanting to be a pianist.

The morning of Saturday, September 14 arrived and of course, I got up early to polish my friend one last time. Was I emotional? Indeed, I was, and still very passionate about keeping her. At that specific time, it made no sense to me why I should even part with such an instrument, even if it was just to keep her as memorabilia.

The phone rang and I assumed that they were calling to confirm their arrival. Instead, something else was happening. When my spouse hung up the phone, she came running towards me as fast as she could. Then she told me, “Rose Ouellette will not be coming to try out your piano. She just died in the hospital”. Rose Ouellette had been taken to the hospital and was declared deceased not long after her arrival.

Although this kept my piano by my side, I was most definitely not happy to hear this news. I was even a bit thunderstruck by it! Try to imagine what one would think, being in my position at that moment in time. Of course this had nothing to do with me, as I couldn’t have caused it, but for a moment I felt guilty for this woman’s death. Guilt initiated by passion, that’s exactly how I felt. Feeling this way was not very comfortable and I had to make certain that this would not happen a second time. Monday morning, I called the newspaper and had my ad removed. From that day on, my piano was not for sale and would never be sold. We’ve been together now for 30 years, and in “Part 4” you’ll find out why we had to stick together.

Fate (def.) the development of events beyond a person’s control, regarded as determined by a supernatural power.

With everything that was happening in my musical life, it would have been very hard for me to believe that “fate” had nothing to do with it. Do I believe in fate? How can I not?
Do I believe in fate? How can I not?

Stream Two Lives to a Destiny Original Novel Soundtrack 

In case you missed it:

The Creation of a Musical Part I

The Creation of a Musical Part 2

Purchase a physical copy of Vol 30 now!

Natasha Barbieri, Editor

Editor

Creator of Classical Crossover Magazine. For Natasha music has always been closely tied to her faith. At age 18, Natasha made her opera debut playing the part of the mother in Menotti’s ‘Amahl and the Night Visitors’ with the Eastern Festival Opera. At 20, she was a winner of the 2011 Young Artist Competition at Andrews University. Natasha graduated in 2012 with a Bachelor’s of Music. Natasha has released a series of Holiday singles “A Place Called Home” (2020), “One Little Boy,” and “The Perfect Year” (2021). In 2021, she was nominated for the ‘Future Classic Women Awards’ show on Men’s & Women’s Radio Station. Natasha is the creator and editor of ‘Classical Crossover Magazine’ a venture that has allowed her to interview many of the top stars in the genre including Sarah Brightman, Celtic Woman, Mirusia, Paul Potts, and more. During the covid-19 pandemic, she created an online concert series for the magazine that has seen her perform in the same line-up as Alex Sharpe, Lucy Kay, Barbara Padilla, Classical Reflection, and more on the virtual stage. In 2022, Natasha was included on the charity album “Stars of Classical Crossover: Christmas” in benefit of the Wallace & Gromit Children’s Charity.