Joy in the Morning

One of the good things about technology and the fact that the church is encouraging families to be involved in their missionary’s work is that sometimes we get to take a peek into the lives of our missionaries. With Nathan, we were able to watch the musical fireside he organized just before he came home. In fact, once the decision was made that he needed to come home, he asked to be able to stay an extra week to be able to participate in the fireside. As for Matthew, last night I received a text from a brother in Arkansas who is in the bishopric of the ward and the mission where Matthew is serving. Matthew is on his fourth transfer in the same area, and as such, the ward members have had an opportunity to get to know him pretty well. I was told that he is one of the best missionaries they have had and is well loved. That’s high praise and speaks well of his dedication and hard work. I was also invited to watch their sacrament meeting this morning. Matthew was scheduled to sing a solo and this brother thought I might like to watch. And I most certainly did want to watch. Before heading off to stake conference, Kevin, Malia and I were able to hear Matthew sing. He did a great job and only pulled faces once when he hit a note that was not to his liking. 😂

The past few weeks have been hard, and I know there are many more hard ones ahead, so these little blessings, these tender mercies and small joys are especially appreciated right now. And getting to see my missionary share his testimony though music was a wonderful way to start the day.

Diverse Interests

Matthew had another concert this evening, this time the one to showcase the numbers the kids will play in all their festivals over the next month. Daniel was able to come down for the performance and Matthew was so, so pleased. Daniel has never heard Matthew play with his ensembles because Daniel lives just far enough away that it can be hard to arrange the travel time around his own school and work responsibilities. But his schedule was amenable tonight, and we are all so glad he was able to come.

This was a big night for Matthew because, after a year and a half of expressing his desires, he was given an opportunity to sing as well as play his trumpet. One of the numbers the jazz band played is “Children of Sanchez,” a jazz number that features an acoustic guitar and a lengthy vocal section at the beginning. They played the second part of the number at the Valentunes Gala a few weeks ago, but tonight was the first performance including the guitar/vocal solo at the beginning. Matthew did a great job. Seriously, he is a pretty talented kid, and his interests are very diverse which can make choosing hard. He loves jazz band but also wants to sing in the jazz choir next year. He also loves stage tech and the theater teacher would love to have him in the musical theater class as well. So, there are three teachers that would love to call Matthew their own and frankly, they will have to share. Matthew will pick and choose what he wants to do and since he has limited hours in the day and a mighty great need to graduate, he won’t be doing everything all the teachers want him to do. But hopefully he will be able to do his top three-jazz band, jazz choir (auditions are coming up next week), and stage tech. 

It has always been fun to watch our children learn and grow and this evening was another opportunity to see the results of all the time and effort Matthew has put in to improving his talents and skills. He finds joy in his music, and I hope that he will continue to do so for many years yet to come. Sometimes the stress of being overscheduled, the social drama that accompanies any high school anything, or the expectations or choices of teachers can take that joy away. (We definitely saw that happen with Nathan and it made me so, so sad.) But my own personal experiences are that the joy found in the music can overshadow all the negatives. I hope that Matthew’s experiences will also fall into that category.

Sing Your Way Home

In the past year or so, Matthew has remembered that he really likes to sing. Lately, he has really been loving the barbershop and the swing era jazz numbers. When he has a few minutes on his hands, he’ll record all four of the parts on a barbershop tag, overlay them, and share the results with us. He cycles through a lot of the old jazz standards and often what he is singing becomes my earworm as well. And they are songs that I’m perfectly content to add to the soundtrack of my life. He has discovered that he really enjoys listening to Ella Fitzgerald, which I think is cool since very few of his generation even know who she is. But let’s be honest. Very few of my generation even know who she is. Kevin and I just grew up in homes where music of great variety was very much a part of the tapestry of life, and as a result of our love of so many types of music, our children have had a varied exposure as well. As I’ve said in the past, they get everything from plain chant to Mozart to Bon Jovi to Dr. Demento. Some they like more than others and different kids develop love for different music, but they get to hear it all. Pretty much the only genres we really don’t like are rap and hip hop, but they get exposure to those in other places and none of them have taken a liking to it, so I feel justified in those omissions. But I digress. Matthew loves to sing. And he has very much been looking forward to today.

Today was the annual Youth Harmony Day, the one where some of the local barbershop groups host a bunch of teens for the day and give them a chance to sing some barbershop. This is Matthew’s third time attending and considering this year was the fifth annual Youth Harmony Day, I can safely say that he loves it and is one of the old timers. In fact, one of the directors of the boys’ choir, who happens to be a member of an award-winning barbershop quartet called Stormfront, remembers Matthew’s name and knows exactly who he is. It made Matthew so stinking happy to know that he has made an impression on this guy! Another member of Stormfront was directing the girls’ choir this year, so Matthew was doubly pleased to get to meet him. And when they asked for volunteers to sing tags with them to show how important it is to be able to hold your own part, Matthew was quick to volunteer, of course. And then he geeked out just a little bit and shared it with us!   

Kevin, Malia and I attended the concert that was held at the end of the day, and Matthew was clearly having a wonderful time. His enthusiasm didn’t wane with the end of the concert either. He was still all hyped up when he got home. He was asking Daren, the Stormfront guy, some questions about how to get a barbershop group started and Daren gave him some advice, shared his email address, and invited Matthew to reach out with questions. That made Matthew super excited! Daniel was even just a little bit jealous. 😉

Once again, I’m so incredibly glad that my kids find such joy in music. I’m glad that Matthew has remembered that he loves to sing. And I love that he is filling the house with music. It was pretty quiet for a bit there after Nathan left and that was different and a bit sad for me, but now the house is filled with the sounds of singing and trumpet, and it makes me so happy! My home doesn’t quite feel right when things are too quiet. I know that in future years it is destined to be quiet more and more often, but for now, I’ve been reveling in the music.

Joy in the Music

Two years ago, Nathan and Matthew participated in a one-day workshop focused on barbershop music called Youth Harmony Day. This normally annual event was cancelled last year due to COVID but was back on the calendar this year. Matthew really enjoyed his last experience, so he was quick to sign up for another round when he discovered it was happening again. The gentleman who was conducting the men’s choir was a member of a well-known (at least in the barbershop music world) quartet and was the same person who conducted the choir two years ago. I think the highlight of Matthew’s day was the fact that the conductor remembered him from the last event and pointed out that he had been unafraid to sing full voice in his tenor range last time and was still unafraid to sing out in his current baritone voice. 

After a day of workshopping, the kids performed in a short concert. It was incredibly fun to see a group of kids, all of whom love singing enough to voluntarily give up a full Saturday, sing their hearts out. Their passion for the music and their joy in it were evident. Matthew had a good day.

A Little Shower Music

Our house is awash in music. With so many musicians who have so many musical preferences, we have a little bit of everything. Every single one of us has a mental soundtrack that accompanies our life. At least once a day, I’m compelled to tell one of my offspring that their soundtrack is leaking out and interfering with my soundtrack. As such, it is not unexpected that there are often impromptu concerts that occur in the shower. This evening, Malia was the featured bathroom soloist. As the water ran, I heard her belting out “The Queen of the Night Aria.” Then she moved on to “In the Hall of the Mountain King.” She rounded out her set with “Rock Around the Clock.”

It was a well programmed performance. She started with the serious stuff and ended with the fun number. And it made me laugh!