There is something very, very right about this...

I was walking down the 90s hall at Draper this morning... I heard a cacophony of sounds coming from the Band Room so I poked my head in. Students were getting warmed up and set up... wow...talk about a large class size! 70 students all with "noisemakers"!  A few kids asked me if I was the sub for today (Jay was out in the hallway)... I have to admit, it crossed my mind how funny it would've been if I... with no musical knowledge whatsoever... just stepped up to the center, picked up the baton, and tried to fake it! :) ....... Mr. Varga stepped in from the hallway and everybody quickly got into place. The lesson began. Of course, it amazed me how good they sounded... how 70 kids can come together with determination and skill.. and create a product. They worked on a selection called "Images of Ireland". I recorded a little bit (see below)- [sorry for the audio issues- the distortion at :17 and the silence at :38 is all due to my cell phone... but just give it a listen all the way through.] This is just a typical 30 second unplanned sample clip of what goes on in our music classrooms...band, orchestra, and choir, every single day. As I stood there and listened, I couldn't help but think...there is something very right about this...

The musical (Damn Yankees!) this past weekend was another example... It was absolutely great. The acting, the singing, the dancing... all came together for a moment in time that will live on in the memories of those parents and kids. The cast was so focused and so talented. You cannot walk away from that Band Rehearsal or the Spring Musical without the sense that there is something so great going on in these classes. It restores your faith that kids DO care, they DO want to learn, they WILL work hard, stretch themselves, and  EXCEL... they just need to find something they are passionate about...thats so critical. Congrats to the Cast and Crew of Damn Yankees!  There is something very, very right about all this...