Celebration Address: Elizabeth Lim-Dutton

Dear graduating class of Concordia College, Dr. Nunes and esteemed faculty: thank-you for this opportunity speak here today. I am deeply humbled and grateful.

Dr. NUNES invited me to talk about the subject of IDENTITY.

Prior to the onset of the Coronavirus pandemic that has seized our planet AND all of our lives and emotions, my plan was to start with the definition of the word identity as it pertains to how our perceptions of ourselves are shaped by WHAT we are as individuals: Our age, gender, background, nationality, profession. And WHO we are: with our beliefs,  passions, and dreams.

My identity has always been interwoven by where I came from, a Korean- American first generation third daughter whose parents came here only with the proverbial shirts on their backs. An incredible work ethic, a strong faith and good educations gave them everything they needed to build the foundation for a prosperous life here and to raise their family.

At the age of 3 and a half I started studying violin as a guinea-pig experiment for my sister’s cello teacher, who was to become important in the teaching of the then fledging Suzuki music education system here in the US. My family and music were and are the bedrocks of WHO and WHAT I am now. 

The coronavirus has totally shifted that identity in that, like everyone here, we are currently suspended in time, standing still, stymied in our wish to go forward with our lives. My daily identity shift: Is the music I play as a violinist still relevant if there are not, and will not be audiences able to hear it for anytime in the foreseeable future?

Prior to this, a few years ago I had another startling identity shift when my youngest of three sons was in the ICU unit at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia the week before Christmas for a spinal cord operation. CHOP, as it is known ( arguably the scariest acronym for a hospital ) is an incredible organization and they had arranged for the children to believe that Santa Claus was there with them. They showered all of the patients there with toys that had been donated and had amassed armies of volunteers to wrap and ribbon every toy no matter how big and unwieldy.It was the first time my family and I were receiving charity from others. WE were the family being given to by strangers, NOT the family giving to others. The generosity and love shown to us made the importance of why one helps others a different and more potent responsibility.

That identity shifting reality and this one of currently existing in a world turned upside down:  where we can’t give hugs to our moms and play music for others to enjoy led me to say a few words about another perspective and definition of the word IDENTITY. That is: The sameness some individuals share to make-up the same kind of universal. Never before in human history have we all had the same identity collectively and could communicate about to each other in real time thanks to worldwide communication technology. We have never been such a community drawn together as world neighbors as we have been these last two months. We are ALL vulnerable to this novel virus and ALL frightened by the question marks that no one yet has the answers for. The answers WILL come and advances WILL be made.

History shows us this in the story of Isaac Newton. Many of you may know this story already but for those who may not, I will mention this here. During the Bubonic Plague in 1665, Trinity College of Cambridge shut its  doors for two years. Isaac Newton, who was supposedly an undistinguished student up to this point studied at home. When he returned to Cambridge in 1667 he had worked on the basics of calculus, optics and his theory of gravitation. Which all helped lead humanity to, extraordinarily, The Age Of Enlightenment.

This Coronavirus, while currently making all of our lives so challenging is a defining moment for the ages. What we do now is so crucial on macro and micro levels. What if: we were all to take EVERY day of this Groundhog Day existence as an opportunity to do a micro thing, not our normal more macro things that we would normally be doing to affect change? Honestly, we can’t DO much more than micro things for the most part right now anyway? This virus has shown us how we are all so interconnected: each to each other. And how what one does or doesn’t do CAN and DOES affect others in immediate and dramatic ways. We have been equalized and shaped by a collective identity shift and yet: we would also like to do something positive in our singular identity as individuals?

Let me say this: EVERYTHING MATTERS. And ESPECIALLY the SUPER micro things when life is the bleakest and most negative.

-       We can still be kind to the stressed-out and unreasonable person at the grocery store?

-       We can reach out to someone who is struggling more than we are, financially or emotionally.  ( There will ALWAYS be someone who is struggling more than ourselves? )

-       The MOST micro, but my personal favorite: Remember to smile at people  even when you are wearing a mask. They will see it in your eyes ( or at least that is what I have been told )

So, what does the future hold for all of us? As it was before and is EVEN more so now: collectively and individually: it is up to each of us. WHO and WHAT we are as single entities will make a difference especially as right now we are:  one and the same. More so now than in  any other time in history. To end this I will utilize some musical references: For myself, identity-wise: WHAT I am as a violinist: possibly out-of-work for the next 12-18 months. WHO I am: still passionate about the beauty of music and its power to communicate. In music notation the rests or TIME between notes is as important as the notes themselves. The silence helps define and shape the music as much as the notes written on a page. 

I know in every fiber of my being that this great PAUSE (or FERMATA  as it is known in musical terms) will add a new APPRECIATION and JOY to the great privilege of being able to communicate the beauty of music to a live audience when Carnegie Hall, Broadway theatres, movie score recording studios and the SOMMER CENTER at Concordia College are able to be open yet again. To the graduating class 2020: May your identity as a citizen of the world and as an individual be a shining light in this Brave New World we are ALL on the cusp of entering.

Our hopes and dreams are on YOU and your generation NOW more than EVER!

GOD BLESS and GODSPEED!