Buildings Are Worth the Investment

In 2007, the Washington Post featured a story about a musician wearing a baseball cap who picked-up his violin and took his position next to the trash cans during rush hour in a DC Metro station.  He played for roughly 43 minutes and made just over $30 in tips. End of story?  Nope. Read on.

A 2022 article (and source of the photo) that recounted the event noted that people passing him on their way to work likely didn’t notice that the violinist was playing some of the most difficult classical music from Bach, Massenet, Schubert and Ponce.

Neither did they notice (save one, apparently) that the subway station musician or “busker” was the famous virtuoso Joshua Bell, who regularly sold out theaters for concerts with symphony orchestras around the world, playing a violin worth more than $3 million.  The article continues:

Some people see it as a sorrowful tale of all the people who just walked by – of a world too busy, too preoccupied, too un-curious, or even simply disinterested in the best that classical music has to offer.

We’re not so sure.

Perhaps, it just is what it is. For those precious 40-something minutes there was music being made among us and for us; as it is every day – whether it be from a Joshua Bell, a future Joshua Bell, or a not-quite Joshua Bell (but who loves music just the same).

Many at the time also thought it a valuable reminder about the musical talent of buskers and informal performers, who are around us most days.

That may be true. But I like the take on this story provided by an anonymous Facebook post that offered the following lesson to be learned from Joshua Bell’s experiment:
 

The experiment proved that the extraordinary in an ordinary environment does not shine and is so often overlooked and undervalued.  There are brilliantly talented people everywhere who aren’t receiving the recognition and reward they deserve. But once they arm themselves with value and confidence and remove themselves from an environment that isn’t serving them, they thrive and grow.

This may seem a strange story to post in a blog related to campus buildings. But I think the phrase

“the extraordinary in an ordinary environment does not shine”

could also apply to the role that high quality facilities plays in creating an environment that fosters and showcases excellence among students, faculty and staff.  Attractive, well-maintained campus facilities provide the comfortable surroundings and functional support that allow the talent and hard work of their occupants thrive.  Never underestimate the value of that support and its worth to the success of the university as a whole.  Buildings are worth the investment!