good things

Stephen (my 17 year old son) made all state choir in SD this year, so on Saturday we drove 5 hours to Sioux Falls to hear him sing. the concert was amazing. and uplifting. First the all-state orchestra performed. i like orchestra... it has always appealed to me a bit more than band, altho i've always been in band and never been in an orchestra. they played a piece by Dr. Yarbrough, a former teacher of mine. it was lovely, and he was there, so i got to chat with him a bit.

then the choir sang. to begin with, let me just say that there is something truly amazing about listening to 932 voices, all performing the same piece at the same time. and well. south dakota has a unique system of all-state choir. they allow all schools to bring at least 1 and up to 5 quartets. these quartets must be comprised of a soprano, alto, tenor and bass. this results in an amazing large choir that is quite balanced. the choir comes together and rehearses on friday and saturday and then does this mass choir concert. it is always impressive, but this was more impressive than most.  Vijay Singh was the guest director and it was obvious from how the students reacted that he was a hit with them. when you listen to a choir that is truly excited about the pieces they are singing and the director, the fun is infectious.

they sang 3 pieces that he had composed, and one in particular that was truly touching. i have never before jumped up after a piece to applaud because i was inspired to do so. ever. but this, this made me do so. it was their final piece alone and titled "Carpenters of God". i wish i could post a link to their performance, but since i can't here's a different peformance with Dr. Singh talking about his composition beforehand http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w73FXtOYFOw . the piece here is more "expertly" performed perhaps, but something about the vast size and huge range of an almost 1000 person choir singing it was more impressive. even if it was in an ice arena. when he got done, he ran around the bleachers where the choir was standing and got them to do the wave! what fun.

then they sang Battle Hymn of the Republic, which made me cry some more. it was a wonderful weekend. the kind there should be more of. my mom was here visiting and so got to go along and hear her grandson sing. all and all, it was a lovely weekend.

if you have kids, hug them today....make today wonderful, because tomorrow is uncertain.