Time Signatures

Elizabeth Pattee Eklund

handwritten sheet music. J. S. Bach.

I have adopted an alter-ego. On Sundays, I open the windows of my condo, point my speakers toward the patio, and take on the role of neighborhood DJ. I feel a bit like my cousin Pat Pattee, a popular rock & roll DJ in the ‘50s and ‘60s. He had a commercial radio station (KISN) to carry him along the airwaves. My gig, on the other hand, is decidedly low-tech. It depends on nothing more than my personal sound system, CD collection, and the open air. From time to time, the neighbors send me requests. In the middle of a pandemic, it’s a way to pass the time.

Like many American children post-WWII, I was raised with strong, multi-generational family connections. I benefitted from their commitment to me and to my education…especially in music. Time – spare or otherwise – was spent either making or studying music.  When I had a family of my own – my own children and my own beautiful home – “spare time” translated to time left over after family and work obligations were met. Between the many civic associations I’ve enjoyed participating in, and the friendships that grew from them, I had little time to spare.  But, no matter how brief the time might be, there was always time for music.   

I am a classically trained singer and voice teacher. Over the years the balance between spare time and my life’s obligations, has shifted. While I used to “fit” music here and there in my crowded life, after my youngest child was in school, I made music my life. My days and evenings were filled with teaching, studying and performing. I continued to serve various arts organizations, still maintained my beautiful home and relationships, but music became the connective tissue in the body of my life.   

The COVID-19 pandemic has shifted my balance of spare time, music and obligation.  Health authorities have advised everyone to alter their lifestyle. For singers, more than alterations have been recommended. We singers are in a category of potential “super spreaders.” We are considered to be especially dangerous should we happen to rehearse, teach or perform while infected with the virus. Thus, like others newly out of work, I find I have a perplexing abundance of spare time. My struggle is no longer to find the time; but rather to find meaning in such an undifferentiated expanse of time. I am learning to conduct a new rhythmic pattern in my life. Which is why, one day, I decided to open the windows, set up my speakers and turn up the volume. 

John and Michelle in 3 South love Mahler and opera. Jennifer upstairs likes easy listening, and Tom, her husband, prefers Beethoven. I once played a mystery selection, which John and Michelle correctly identified as the Flower duet from Lakmé (Act 1). Only Lucia (1 South) correctly identified the voice singing Malika as mine own. 

I like the more active involvement of the listeners. It reinforces my regard for them and it builds their confidence as participatory listeners. However, for the most part, the neighbors simply enjoy the concert and leave the programming decisions to me.  In this small way, our neighborhood can experience something beautiful together, but at a safe social distance. I find that the time does not simply pass; it acquires meaning through this weekly rhythm.

Elizabeth Pattee Eklund is a native of Portland, Oregon.  She is a trained singer and teacher (NATS) a mother, grandmother and, in COVID time, a neighborhood DJ.