Random Magic

I love it when a little bit of visual magic crosses my line of vision....recently I watched a building float upward and then suddenly dart off to one side, as it was reflected in a window of the vehicle in which I was riding, and we made a sharp turn. If you take selfies, you can become aware of all kinds of cool reflections. Random magic for me is also two long vapor trails which cross in the sky......listening to music but not really paying attention because I am working on something, and then suddenly I get to the part where the music swells and a favorite combination of tones blares its way outward....or seeing a person start dancing spontaneously on the sidewalk.......wondering where the closest place for mundane-but-ok food is, then suddenly passing a restaurant which features one's very favorite dish....... reading something when the TV suddenly gives you the music which perfectly fits the passage you just read. When that happens we ask ourselves whether it is instinct or coincidence or ESP or the power of our will......whatever it may be, it is magical. Or when you start thinking about how alone you are in the world, and suddenly your very favorite person is at the door, or texting you 'Wanna meet me for coffee?' As a composer, most of what I write feels random rather than planned.....and that feels like magic.                 --James Gibson

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