Grumpa Joe is bursting with pride. He has witnessed four of his Grand Elves in concert over the last two weeks. Each performance has been outstanding. Last night I listened to an amazing bunch of kids with truly God-given talents. The Lincoln-Way High School is loaded with over the top students. The teachers are motivated to bring out the best in their students, and it shows. Nothing short of excellence is expected. The entire District has the same expectations from the superintendent on down. The performance is called Kaleidoscope. The orchestration is smooth and the kids pull it off flawlessly.
The stage is filled with musical groups from singing chorales (mixed, women’s and men’s), a symphonic band, a sting orchestras, a jazz band, and various smaller groups. The performance begins with a chorale singing carols then morphs seamlessly to the orchestra, and eventually into a group of percussion instruments. The performance is not interrupted until the intermission. The second half is equally loaded with marvelous student performers. The evening is genuinely professional in execution. Each time the scene changes to a new musical group, it is spotlighted. Meanwhile, a new group is quietly assembling on stage in the dark. The background lighting changes to enhance the performers and the sound.
Two weeks earlier, I enjoyed the performance of two Lincoln-Way non-varsity bands. One of them featured Grand Elf Two. Two nights ago, I watched class performances that featured Grand Elves Three and Five, and a wonderfully reverent re-enactment of Mary and Joseph’s trip to Nazareth, the birth of Jesus, the arrival of angels and shepherds, and the presentation of gifts by the three kings.
A lack of communication prevented me from going to the Christmas concert in which Grand Elf Five played the trumpet. It would have been the first time I heard him play the instrument.
Meanwhile Grand Elves Six and Seven are celebrating school activities in a city far from Frankfort. Grumpa Joe hopes to be able to see them next year.
The three oldest Grand Elves are busy living the life of “Thirty Somethings.” Grandma Peggy and I are praying they find engagement rings in their stockings this Christmas.
Filed under: family, Memories, Music, Society, Theater, Warm and Fuzzy | Tagged: Band, Christmas, High School Chorale, Lincoln-Way, Music, North Pole, Performance, Religion and Spirituality, Santa Claus |
The Lord has Truly Blessed you, may it continue.