Portrait of the Artist: Conductor and Organist J. Reilly Lewis

Renowned Bach performer and conductor J. Reilly Lewis has spent most of his life in the world of classical music. The production of sound and the perfecting of that sound has consumed him and he has one of the best ears in the business. And so it was a moment of silence that caught my attention. Moments before Reilly was to head out on stage and conduct his Washington Bach Consort, I noticed him, silent and still as a statue, head bowed, eyes closed, in a moment of quiet. Maybe it was reflection, maybe it was prayer, but it was a moment of unspeakable beauty.

Still: Portrait of J. Reilly Lewis, June 2014, Washington, DC