April 2023
Sharing The Light
Chiaroscuro in Our Lives
During the Renaissance, a specific painting technique was cultivated known as Chiaroscuro – literally “light-dark”. Through this technique, artists such as Leonardo da Vinci and Rembrandt, heightened the dramatic effect in their paintings by casting brighter light on their primary subjects and placing in shadow or lesser light their secondary subjects.
However, the concept of contrasting light and darkness has been around since the creation of the world and mankind. As children of our Heavenly Father, we are naturally drawn toward light and generally shun darkness. God’s invitation to all His children on the earth is to seek out light and, once found and embraced, share that light with others. In a revelation given through the prophet Joseph Smith in 1831, the Lord counseled, “And that which doth not edify is not of God, and is darkness. That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day.”
The BYU School of Music is committed to cultivating and sharing light throughout the world. We do this through our 150+ live concerts and recitals every year, through our annual international and domestic performance tours of instrumental and choral ensembles, and through the numerous Experiential Learning opportunities our students engage in around the world every year. And we do this through the livestreaming of all our performances. These livestream broadcasts are already reaching across the United States and around the world with viewers from countries on every continent.
Our prophet, Russell M. Nelson, has called upon all to be beacons of light in a world desperate for light. Please join the students, faculty, and alumni of the BYU School of Music in sharing light. You can do so by sharing this journal with others. We also invite you to join us for concerts and recitals via our streaming website. You could invite a neighbor or friend to watch with you! And, of course, you can share the link with friends and family around the world to enjoy the musical light!
Now, please enjoy this edition of our journal. As you do, think of ways you can employ chiaroscuro in your life by moving further away from less important subjects and casting more light on the subjects of greatest importance.
