Gifts are everywhere to be found

You never know.

As I was walking past Great St. Mary’s on a sunny afternoon, the faint sounds of organ music wafted through the front doors. The doors are usually open beckoning tourists and passers-by alike in to visit the gift shop and take “tower tours” to see Cambridge from heights not available anywhere else open to the public in the city.

Something else pulled me in, however, as the music seemed more than the usual kind of noontime recital repertoire. What I discovered on entering was that it was “jury day” – the time when organ scholars from the university were sitting for what were essentially their term exams. It’s a time for them to demonstrate to their professors that they are worthy of the credentials they seek from this prestigious university. Here is but one of the pieces heard that noontime (secretly recorded - don't tell anyone).

It was a wonderful opportunity to experience the prodigious musical talent on display.
  
I have no way of evaluating the relative talent of the various scholars as they went through their paces, but it was an unexpected pleasure to be able to walk into this magnificent space and enjoy talent that most likely would only be otherwise available in a concert hall – or after long travel to a designated church or cathedral in a distant city. And here it was, right here. All one needed was to mindful of one's surrounding and paying attention to the gifts that are being given without our even knowing they are there.