Joyful Music

Last night was Matthew’s ever high school choir concert. While he has always been a band kid, this year being a choir kid has provided him with the happy, safe place that he needed. He has made new friends, had new experiences, used his trumpet skills to augment vocal music, designed all the lighting for the choir concerts, and generally been the all around get it done guy to help things run smoothly. So basically, he has done what he has always done but extended his reach to cover the choir department as well. 

All the choirs sang at this concert, which made it so, so long, almost three hours. But musically it was very diverse and was pretty fun. Matthew had a fantastic trumpet solo that he didn’t tell us about, one that was beautifully done, and which brought a lot of depth and power to the music. The vocal jazz groups performed several numbers that we haven’t heard in the other concerts we have attended in the past several weeks. And the lighting was fantastic, spot on for each group and each song. And all designed by Matthew in the day and a half before the concert because that was when he was given the cues he needed to design the show.

I know Matthew is going to miss the camaraderie he has found in the choir program this year. But I also know that he is so grateful for the chance he had to be there. The Spirit was definitely a part of his being asked to join the vocal jazz group and at the time it happened, none of us knew just how much of a difference it would make for this last year of his high school experience. But the Lord knew what he needed. And we are all so very grateful for this chance that Matthew had to be a part of something that has brought him such joy.

Disneyland Do Over

Instead of doing a big tour for the entire band program, this year the band director set his sights on a tour focused on the indoor percussion team and planned a smaller, shorter tour to Las Vegas for all the band students. Matthew had absolutely no desire to go to Vegas so way back last fall, he decided he was going to tour with the choir instead this year. As time went by, the Las Vegas tour was scrapped for an ever shorter and more cost-effective trip to Lagoon. But even that plan failed to come to fruition, so Matthew was thrice glad that he opted early on to travel with the choir.

Southern California was the destination for this year’s choir tour and although Matthew was there last year with the band, that tour was so disappointing for him in so many ways that he was actually pretty excited to get a chance to do it again. Last year, the group of friends he was with was focused on the rides at Disneyland, so all Matthew got to do was stand in lines and take rides. He missed out on all the other charms the magical kingdom has to offer. This year he got to rectify that and did some shopping, saw some sights, ate more Dole whip, and even made it to Cars land, something that he was sorely disappointed about missing last year.

Last year’s tour only allotted the kids about an hour at the beach, but this year they spent an entire afternoon basking in the sun and playing in the sand. Matthew spotted a pod of dolphins during their time at the beach, which is always cool but extra exciting as he has spent a considerable amount of time on his hobby of wildlife photography, which he has come to love.

The band teacher forgot to register for the festival they had planned to participate in last year, so they didn’t even get to create any music on that tour. But this year Matthew got to sing in a festival in which our high school did tremendously well, coming away with the best choir program award as well as the best all around ensemble for the madrigals. 

Another highlight of this year’s trip included enjoying all the charm of Camp Snoopy at Knott’s Berry Farm. Snoopy is one of Matthew’s favorite cartoon characters, so it was a fun stop for him. And my sister Esther, who is a Snoopy fan as well, was mightily jealous!

Due to some problems with one of the replacement bus drivers, the kids didn’t make it home until nearly 1:00 this morning rather than the anticipated 9:00 p.m. yesterday arrival time. Matthew was completely wiped out. I woke him up twice so he could go to school as he had planned, but when he failed to get up after those dual wake up calls, I decided he probably just needed to sleep. I think that assessment was correct, because later this afternoon when I mentioned waking him up several times, he admitted with some surprise that he didn’t even remember them happening even though he sat up and looked at me and everything. 😂

I hope Matthew came away from this tour with more fond memories than he did last year. And despite the physical and mental strain that such a whirlwind tour takes on him due to worries about food, inability to sleep well, etc., I certainly hope he sees it as time well spent. I certainly would. I mean, doesn’t eating Dole whip at Disneyland with his friends kind of make all of it worthwhile?

Birthday Bao

Nathan’s birthday is on Wednesday and by way of celebrating his big day, he decided to make bao. Today was a holiday which meant no work for him, so it was designated as bao day. He invited Daniel, Tawni, and Marissa, one of their neighbors, to join in his culinary creations, and they were all excited to participate. I suspect part of that is the “Little Red Hen” bit, the whole “if you help make it you get to help eat it” part, but I also think that there is some interest in learning to make the foods of our culture. Which I love. I also love that Nathan sees cooking as a way to treat himself! 

The end result was a little rough looking, although first timer Marissa created the cutest little bao that steamed up so pretty that I’m a little jealous. 😜 However, all those involved assure me that they tasted marvelous, Marissa stating that her “belly was very happy.” And I definitely believe the rave reviews. There is never any leftover bao, even when they are lacking in the looks department! These people who have been fed the goodness of homemade bao are likely forever ruined where the frozen kind you get at the store are concerned. 

Strike Up the Band

May is always busy with all the end of year performances and events, but with Matthew being a senior, it has been extra busy this year. This past week has been particularly busy. Starting with Malia’s choir concert last Tuesday, we have had a concert or performance of some sort on 6 of the past 8 evenings. I already shared thoughts about Matthew’s vocal jazz performance, so now I’m going to wax poetic on all his band concerts. Of which there have been many.

But first, let me mention one other anomaly we’ve had. Last week Wednesday was the annual Spring Showcase, a theater department performance. Each year the students in the Theater 3 class write a ten-minute one act play. The Theater 4 students direct the plays. And anyone student in the school who wants to can audition to be in one of the plays. Matthew has auditioned and been cast every year that he has been in high school. In fact, this year he had people tell him they needed him for their shows, so it was pretty much certain that he would be participating. 😂 The first year we attended the showcase the shows were pretty entertaining, a good mix of humor, mystery, and drama. Last year it felt like every play was about or written from deep within the wellspring of some kind of mental illness, which made it a less pleasant event. And this year, there seemed to be a focus on a twist at the end of the story, some humorous, some more of the mystery variety. It was a fun change of pace and Matthew, who pretty much adlibbed his entire performance, was the one performer who got some actual laughs from the audience.

And now, the band begins to play…

Last Thursday was the end of year band concert. Matthew only played with the wind symphony for this one as the jazz bands had their own separate performance this time around. The concert theme was video game music which was actually the theme of the first concert of Matthew’s sophomore year, the first concert our current band teacher held at this school. I’m not into video games and as such, none of the music was familiar or even that interesting to me. Frankly, I was a bit bored. But it wasn’t just me. None of the kids cared either. For some it was a “been there done that” kind of thing. For others, they just didn’t care about the music. And I’m sure the apathy of the band director over the past month has not helped. But no matter the reason, the kids, Matthew included, just didn’t have any enthusiasm about this concert. They performed well and all that, but there was no excitement for the pieces they were playing, and it was evident in the lack of energy. Oh, well. At least this is the last one for Matthew. And he’s actually totally ok with that.

Last Saturday Matthew had a jazz gig in Sandy. They got invited to participate in a multi-high school concert held at the Sandy Amphitheater and Kevin was in attendance to support Matthew. Matthew felt like it wasn’t a stellar performance, and the big news of the night was the rain, which completely soaked the audience, and the lightning, which shut down the concert right after Matthew’s group played. 

Last night was a two-event evening, only one of which was band-related. Our new ward has a BBQ for all the graduating seniors each year and takes a minute to recognize each senior and present them with their last emblem of belonging for the youth program, which is a small glass ornament with the Christus etched inside. As parents, we had the opportunity to take a minute to share a bit about our youth and then the bishop presented the statues. Bishop knew Matthew was double booked, so he had us go first and then we immediately dashed over to the park for Matthew’s last high school band concert ever.

Last night’s concert was advertised as the Herriman Jazz Festival and was another multi-school jazz band event. Several of the local middle schools and the other high school in Herriman performed as well as the vocal jazz group and the two jazz bands from our high school. Matthew has been lobbying for this particular event for three years and has been looking forward to it for just as long. The first such event in our little city was the year Nathan was a senior. He sang with the vocal jazz group that year and the jazz band played. Last year the concert was supposed to happen, but due to some scheduling snafus and an outright stealing of the idea by another high school who scheduled theirs for the night before ours was supposed to be, the venue was changed at the last minute and the whole jazz in the park thing didn’t happen. This year that issue was solved by making it a multi-school concert.

Knowing that this concert was Matthew’s big senior swan song and that it meant a lot to him, Daniel, Tawni and Nathan all came down to be in attendance. They took Malia, and our camp chairs, to the park and staked out a spot while Kevin, Matthew and I attended the ward BBQ. We arrived just in time for a necessary thirty-minute intermission. A bunch of the kids in vocal jazz are also in madrigals and they were double booked last night as well, so they had to dash from one performance to another, building in enough time to change and set up. They sang a variety of the group numbers we heard at the full concert last Friday as well as several of my favorite solos from the previous event. And it all went great. 

Matthew’s jazz band was the last group on the program, the culmination of the festival, and Matthew’s last ever high school band concert. Unfortunately, the performance did not go anywhere near as well as he had hoped and he was equal parts crushed, angry, frustrated, and incredibly disappointed. As I have already said, Matthew has been looking forward to this particular concert for three years. We didn’t feel like it went as poorly as he did, but he is his own worst critic first of all, and second, the jazz band this year is just nowhere near as good as last year’s ensemble, and he knows it. So, he does everything he can, and as lead trumpet he has felt a good deal of responsibility for the band this year. But when no one else cares as much as he does, there is only so much he can do. He is likely going to need some time to being able to put this particular let down behind him, but there were two tender mercies this evening. First, Daniel, who is a well-seasoned jazz band member himself and the sibling that is closest to Matthew, was there to support him and talk him through it. Second, our high school band director actually took the time to acknowledge all the hard work Matthew has put into the band program for these past three years and tell Matthew how grateful he is for everything Matthew has done. So, while Matthew has frequently been frustrated and irritated with the lack of planning and the changeable nature of the band teacher, all his effort has been noticed and appreciated. So, kudos to his teacher for taking the time to thank him. Matthew needed that.

Malia feels a bit bad about saying it, but she is tired of all the band concerts. And honestly, I’m a little bit over it as well. There have been a lot of them packed into a very short amount of time and while we both love Matthew and want to support him, we are both glad that the next concert will be a choir concert!

It’s Official!

Ever since Daniel told us that he and Tawni are getting married, I’ve had to laugh a little bit. Not because they are getting married, because that is just fantastic, but because the way they are doing things is so very similar to how Kevin and I did things. You see, for the past two months, Daniel and Tawni have known that they are headed to the altar. But they have not been “officially engaged” because there was no ring and no official proposal. But they have scheduled their sealing at the temple, reserved a venue for the reception, chosen colors, begun deciding on a menu for the luncheon, begun the search for an apartment, priced out flowers, etc. 

When Kevin and I decided we were getting married, our MO was exactly the same except for the fact that we didn’t actually tell anyone, not even our parents. In those days, once you scheduled your sealing with the temple, they sent you a letter in the mail with all the details that come via email now. Knowing that, I was off track (which meant I was at home during the day while my parents went to work) and made sure to check the mail every day so I could grab that letter before anyone else did. Unfortunately, the letter arrived on a Saturday. Which meant my dad was the one who brought in the mail. And that also means he saw the letter, got a little stressed, and asked my older sister Patti if I was eloping. ROLLING ON THE FLOOR LAUGHING WITH TEARS SMILEY So I’ve been chuckling just a little bit every time they say that they are not actually engaged yet. 

But today, it is finally official! The ring was ready, the proposal happened, and now we can officially keep going with all the planning that was unofficial yesterday. 😜

The Jazz Singer

This evening was Matthew’s last full performance for vocal jazz. While I have attended many years of band concerts with both Mattthew and Daniel and have enjoyed most of them (and tolerated the others), vocal music is still what’s in my heart. As such, I have loved being able to attend more choir concerts this year. And I have really loved the opportunity to hear so many old jazz standards sung by the vocal jazz group. I grew up watching classic 1940’s and 50’s movie musicals and am a fan of older vocalists such as Frank Sinatra and Rosemary Clooney, and newer ones with similar styles like Harry Connick Jr. and Michael Buble. So much of that style of music is rarely heard nowadays and it has been a joy to not only hear it performed, but to see Matthew learning to love it as well. 

Matthew loves jazz music, and he has reveled in the opportunity to sing a lot of it this year. He has a lot of natural talent as far as singing goes, but he has learned a bit of technique and gained some skills that have enhanced that talent. One of the fun things about this evening’s selections was the fact that during one of his solos, I could definitely hear his trumpet skills coming out in his vocalizations. All the time he has spent learning to improv in band has carried over to his vocal improv and when he really started experimenting with it a few months ago, he discovered that it really is second nature to him. So that was a fun bit of music!

The fact that his senior year is almost over hasn’t really sunk in yet, but with this evening’s swan song, it is coming. As for me, I admit I was a bit emotional about this concert because I know that it is nearly the end of a good thing. I know I’ve mentioned this before, but most of Matthew’s close friends from school last year graduated. So, as his senior year started, he was a little bit lost socially. The circumstances of his acceptance into the vocal jazz group were such that he began the year with a bit of imposter syndrome riding on his shoulders. He wasn’t sure if the other students would accept his presence there. But these amazing choir kids just opened their hearts and welcomed my band kid into their world. While Matthew has loved the music, I think the culture and camaraderie were what he needed most. And for the safe place that he has found in the choir room and with these kids, I will always be grateful. 

I’m going to miss these concerts. But Malia has unabashedly declared herself a choir kid, so I know there will be more singing to come. I don’t know if she will want to try out for the vocal jazz group when she gets there, but we will see. Either way, I am looking forward to more choir concerts. And I’m really, REALLY looking forward to being able to unsubscribe from the high school band calendar. 😂

What a Wonderful Class

Tonight was Malia’s last choir concert of the school year. She was pretty stressed about his one because she felt like they weren’t ready, but honestly, there was only one part of one song that sounded crunchy. She told me afterwards that the choir teacher brought them in at the wrong time, so it was totally his fault and not theirs. And so, despite the worries, she was pleased that it went as well as it did. The concert was a themed “decades” concert and the choir teacher selected a song from each decade from about the 1940’s up to now. Malia’s choir sang “Africa,” a pop tune that was all the rage when I was a teenager, a medley of the choral music from the movie “Frozen,” and ended with “What a Wonderful World.” It was a fun assortment of songs.

Choir has been one of Malia’s happy places this year. Most of the kids there have been great to be with and she has made some good friends. The choir teacher is funny and good with the kids and just a little bit crazy which is a necessary quality for a middle school choir teacher. WACKY SMILEY Choir is her last class of the day, and it has been a fantastic way to finish her school day. In addition, it is one of those classes that has helped build her self-confidence. She is a bit more outgoing and a bit more willing to let people hear her sing. She isn’t quite as nervous before concerts and for the most part, the performances are fun for her. She isn’t quite so terrified of singing in smaller groups and she and a few of her classmates did well at solo and ensemble festival this spring. Overall, it has been a fantastic experience for her, and she has joyful claimed status as a “choir kid.”

Malia has some worries about how it will be next year because all the 9th graders will be gone, and she doesn’t have great confidence in the current 8th graders, but of course, she won’t really know how it is going to be until she gets there. I certainly hope that it will continue to be one of the joys in her day. And I hope that she will make even more friends as new kids join the choir. I suspect she is going to miss this part of her life a lot over the summer. 

Worth the Wait

As you may well know, we have really shifted into experience gifts with our kids rather than just giving them more stuff. As such, today was Christmas! Or at least today was a Christmas present. 😉 Today was the day we saw “Wicked.” Not the recent movie version of which I’m highly skeptical based on the previews I’ve seen, but the Broadway version. We took all our boys to see “Wicked” last time it made its way to Salt Lake, but Malia was still too young to care at that point. But about a year later, she was old enough to care and has wanted to see this spectacle of a musical ever since. So, suffice it to say, she was super, super, duper excited!

In past I’ve talked about the power of live theater and even though I’ve seen this show three times before today and I know exactly what is going to happen, I still get emotional, I still get goose bumps, I still enjoy every moment from that first chord to the final dropping of the curtain at the end of the show. As soon as the lights dimmed and the first chord sounded, I got a little teary. This show does have a powerful beginning, both musically and visually, and it gets me every time. And in the post show analysis, Malia declared that she is my daughter because as soon the show started, she got a little teary too. 😂She has wanted to see this show since she was eight, and the anticipation and the visual and musical power of those first moments of this show definitely made an impact on her. 

When the applause finally died down at the end of the show, I asked Malia if it was worth the five-year wait. Her response? “Yes!”