The Violin Experiment

The American Grammy Award-winning violinist, Joshua David Bell (Born: 1967) emerged from the D.C. Metro and positioned himself against a wall beside a trash basket. By most measures, he was nondescript - a youngish white man in jeans, a long-sleeved shirt, and a Washington Nationals baseball cap. From a small case, he removed a violin. Placing the open case at his feet, he shrewdly threw in a few dollars and pocket change as "seed money" and began to play.

For the next 45 minutes, in the D.C. Metro, on January 12, 2007, Joshua David Bell played the music of the late great Austrian classical music composer, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791) and the late great Austrian music composer, Franz Peter Schubert (1791 - 1828), as over 1,000 people streamed by, most of whom hardly took notice. If they had paid attention, they might have recognized the young man for the world-renowned violinist that he is! They also might have noticed the violin that he played - it was a rare Stradivarius worth over $3 million dollars!

It was all a part of a project arranged by "The Washington Post" - "an experiment in context, perception, and priorities - as well as an unblinking assessment of public taste. In a banal (or, dull) setting, at an inconvenient time, would beauty transcend?" Just three (3) days earlier, Joshua David Bell sold out Boston Symphony Hall, with ordinary seats going for $100 dollars. In the subway, he garnered about $32 dollars from the 27 people who stopped long enough to give a donation.

Almighty God promised that the virgin Mary would give birth to a child; and, that child was born just as Almighty God promised! However, like Joshua David Bell, many people did not recognize Him for who He was!