The Blood Lie character interview: Jack
Shirley Reva Vernick
Q: Music is really important to you. How do you feel when you play cello?
A: I feel like I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be, doing exactly what I’m supposed to do. In that sense, you could say it feels like being home. But it also feels like being transported to a place where the rest of the world has dropped away. I’m serene when I play. Even when I’m performing in front of an audience, it’s just me and my cello, and it’s all about the music.
Q: You would love to play with New York Philharmonic. What do you have to do to achieve this dream?
A: I’d have to get formal, intensive training at a conservatory. And even then, there’s the luck element – is a chair open? Who else is competing for it? Do they like my audition selection? I don’t know if there’s anti-Semitism at work in the selection process, but I fear it is. After all, anti-Semitism exists everywhere else, so why not in the orchestra?
Q: How do you feel about Emaline?
A: I’ve never said this out loud, believe me, but since you ask, here it is: I love her. Always have. She’s kind and beautiful and, well, perfect. I know it’s futile. I know she’s forbidden. I can tell my head that, but my heart won’t listen.
Q: Does your religion play a huge role in your life?
A: Yes. Judaism is a religion, a lifestyle, a shared history, and an ethnicity. My worldview is grounded in its tenets, and I’m proud of my heritage. Gentiles see me as a Jew – they’re conscious of it – and the bigoted ones dislike me for it. I don’t think I’ll ever be seen simply as a guy who’s good at the cello. I’ll be seen as a Jew who’s good at the cello.
Q: How about in your music?
A: On the surface, not so much. I play the same kind of music any other cellist would: classical and modern. However, it’s when I play my music that I feel the closest to the Divine. In that way, my music and my spirituality are closely intertwined.
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