And Then Yesterday . . .

I'm going to work on a way to get the audio/video to anyone who is interested. There's a lot of it, so I think loading it all on here would be a day-long process. I might explode blogger with excessive storage requirements, and that wouldn't be good.

You'll see, when I get the videos loaded, that I did a little pre-recording at afternoon rehearsals. I figured they are going to sound as good as they would later that evening, I'd still get all the songs, and I wouldn't have to watch the whole concert through a phone camera screen if I could get a few rounds of song stored earlier.



This collective performance incorporated a bunch of special music--kids playing piano, flute, guitar, singing in various-sized groups (some a capella, some with accompaniment)--loads of talent! It's so nice for young ladies and gentlemen who are homeschooled to have the opportunity to share their months and years of hard work on an instrument. There is so much beauty and heart in music!

The day before the concert, the girls were ready to figure out what to wear (okay, they were ready far before the day before, but I was not yet ready :) We pulled several (SEVERAL) options out of their closet and then hung these around the room. Both girls chose a different room in the house in which to change, and so began the flurry of fabric. This skirt, those tops--that skirt, these tops, those shoes, which dress? My skirt? Your shoes. Jewelry? Let's share . . . and on and on. After getting a second opinion from dad, the ladies' lovely outfits were selected!

"Brennen, what are you going to wear to the concert?"

"I don't know."

"How about this pink shirt and some khakis?"

"That works."

And done.

LOL!

I'm glad the girls care about their appearance and want to look nice for special occasions, that's one of the fun things about being a young lady. I won't even go into hairstyles . . . ;)

One of my favorite parts of the concert was when both the elementary choir and the teen choir sang together. The little ones were up on the stage in front, lined up in their little rows, singing with their little voices. Across the back of the room, the teen choir stood in a long row that stretched from one side of the church to the other. As the younger ones would sing, the older ones would echo. It was such a neat effect! Like the little ones' voices were being encouraged by the older ones' strong voices--"just keep singing, you'll sound like us someday!" It made me teary-eyed. And was the only song I didn't record :)

Midway through the concert, it was our girls' turn to do their duet to "My Lighthouse" by Rend Collective. This made Buck teary-eyed. Gabby borrowed a guitar that was already mic'd, Caelan made some adjustments to the microphones set to highlight her voice and instrument, and off they went. Gabby was having contact trouble and was seeing double out of one eye, which made reading the music a challenge--but the good thing about practice is you can still pull off a performance and never let the audience know there was a hiccup along the way. They both did a very nice job!



After all the music concluded, there was a time to visit and exclaim. Caelan's homemade chocolate mint brownies were only slightly less talked about than the skirt she was wearing, which she also made herself.

Gabby agreed that if they could not take a summer break from choir, this would be ideal! Their choir instructor (who has like five or six children and also teaches violin--just found this out yesterday!!) looked a little flustered at the thought of not having the summer off, but was also glad that all the girls were so enthusiastic about singing again.


Buck was about to fall asleep on his feet, so we collected our pan, said our goodbyes and headed home. Brennen says he's willing to go again next fall, and Graysen would like to get back into it--if they'll let him sing with the teen choir. We'll have to see what happens, but I'm so glad they enjoy the fun and fellowship of their homeschool choir!