As social animals, we human beings can’t help our intense curiosity about other people. Faced with a member of the species who behaves outside the norm, we wonder, “How did so-and-so get that way?” This is especially true in the case of remarkable talent, and has led me to the subject for my next lecture-recital. Why does musical giftedness awaken in some people, and not in others who have, purportedly, the same DNA?

In celebration of her new CD of original compositions, I sat down to talk with my colleague Ingrid Arauco, who is a professor of music theory and composition at Haverford College, and whose work I often perform.

I’ve taught many wonderful students over the years, but one in particular stands out — Daniel Gillen, who is a physics major at Haverford College, and a lyrical pianist with a strong artistic voice. That Daniel has been blind since infancy doesn’t seem to hinder him much. Part of his confidence stems from the remarkable education he’s received from a place he often speaks about, the Filomen M. D’Agostino Greenberg Music School at the Lighthouse Guild in New York City.

On a frigid January day in 2009, my siblings and their kids traveled from around the country to meet in Washington, D.C. for Barack Obama’s historic first Inaugural Celebration. The only hotel we could find was several miles away from the furthest D.C. Metro stop, way out in Virginia, but part of the magic of the day was boarding the empty train and being joined by an accumulating mass of bundled-up, happy people at each station, until finally we were part of a peace-able, joyous throng of 400,000 strong at the Washington Mall, waiting to hear a concert.

As someone who’s transfixed by great live singing, I’m moved by the magic that occurs when one is in the physical presence of a wonderful singer, whether in a concert hall, opera house, church, or home. I like to be in the same room as the singer; I like to have my eardrums vibrate in close proximity as they hit their high notes. As such, I’ve never gotten excited by the prospect of seeing opera broadcast in HD in a movie theater. But sometimes logistics prevail. If I wanted to hear James Levine conduct his favorite opera, one that is infrequently performed, without trekking to New York during a hectic season, I would have to trek instead to the movie theater near the mall, and settle for what I thought would be a somewhat second-rate experience.