Resonate

Elaine Rinaldi, founder and conductor of the recently formed 40-piece Orchestra Miami, did not always expect to lead an orchestra.

She studied piano as a child, and went on to receive a master’s degree in performance from the prestigious Mannes College of Music. A year after finishing school, she was hit by a car while riding a bike. Although she recovered, she could not play piano the way she used to.

And so she switched to conducting.

This week’s article about Rinaldi in the Miami Herald underplays the emotion behind this career switch. All we hear about it from the conductor’s lips is: “It was very bad.”

This woman had devoted her whole life to piano and then had her instrument taken away from her. “Very bad” does not capture that. Perhaps Rinaldi did not want to talk about how hard it was to leave behind her old career, but if a reporter is going to write about it, she needs to somehow explain the emotion behind it. Otherwise, the article appears flippant.