Imagine the Olympic Games without music. Bleak. Recall moments of the Olympic Games with music—competition is transcended, common humanity and achievements are celebrated. I captured the following moment while watching 2004 Olympic Opening Ceremonies, televised from Greece:

It begins with music—of course. A multitude of drummers are walking into the stadium, playing a solemn march. They stop playing. Silence. A solitary drummer plays from the site of the original Olympic games (shown on a big screen via electronic video and the marvels of taped and real time.) In response, another drummer responds from the 21st -century stadium.

An enthusiastic drumming debate takes over between the drummer of old and the drummer of new. (The video drummer looks like the live drummer. Are they the same person, in a technological synchronization?) The crowd is caught up in the moment. Ecstatic responses break out. Music bridges the Olympics past and present. Olympic rings of fire electrify the stadium’s pool of water. Opposites come together in a new artistic unity.

from Music of the Soul: Composing Life Out of Loss