David Harouni

In December 2002, I had the great and unexpected pleasure of meeting David Harouni.    It was a day of holiday concerts and during the break I decided to walk through the French Quarter (was living in New Orleans and playing with the Louisiana Philharmonic at the time) and buy gifts for my family.    While on this walk, I was immediately stricken by the windows of a gallery in which many paintings like this one - faces - were hanging.    Quietly, I walked in and saw a man sitting at a desk.   "Hello," I said.   "Are these self-portraits?"

"Yes, they are," he responded, "and when you look at them they become you."

After introductions, I smiled and left, feeling a very deep feeling of spiritual satisfaction and dreaming of owning one of his paintings one day.

During my years in New Orleans I did at times stop by his studio, both to look at art and to talk.  David is a wonderful man, one who barely speaks but when he does....and flash to the summer of 2005, when I went back to New Orleans for that to-be-fateful summer.    Upon walking into his studio on a Sunday afternoon, I was greeted by David, who asked "So are you going to play for me now?"

Luckily I had been practicing in earnest - so Bach, Mozart, and Barber later, this gift was given.

Seven years later, I cannot describe the feeling of having finally taken it out of storage and given it a home...for more information on David and his work, please visit www.harouni.com.