Water, food, and oxygen are the essentials to survive.....well add music to that list for me and I'm good. I simply can't imagine my life without music. Music is an emotional rollercoaster traveling through beautiful melodies and vivid lyrics....it heightens whatever feelings I have stirring in my soul at any given moment. Similar to the same feeling I get when my freshly shaved legs hit warm sheets or the feeling of hearing my gorgeous niece say "I LOVE YOU BEANPYE"....it soothes my soul. Music sparks the memory to recall some of the most magnificent and devestating events of my life. Good music never fails to leave you with some sort of strong emotion. It surely didn't fail to deliver some...ahhh, should I say truly unforgettable moments in school today as well.
So guess what new teacher was appointed to be the head instructor for the very first student gospel choir ever at my school? Yes, that is right, Ms. Thompson was named to be the new gospel choir instructor! I think it's safe to say that I'm more excited to instruct the kids in this group than my public speaking class!
Tryouts were today....and Lord help me! I think I earned about 4 FULL scholarships to hell from the comments that were running through my head as a few students started to sing. Ever seen the first 2-3 rounds of American Idol? If you have...then I don't have to say anything else. I'm sure you are laughing and holding your side now ...just cracking up!
I think I got a hernia today. Actually, I KNOW I got a hernia today. No lie. I should have won an Oscar for putting on the best poker face during the tryouts. It took everything in my power to not shed any tears or errupt in a gut busting laugh! If another student strutted through the door singing "his eye is on the sparrow" then I think I would have put a stake through the sparrow's eye! About half the kids were all over the place...started off as a soprano then went like 5 octaves down and ended as a baritone. I was utterly confused! Also, is it mandatory to do a 20 second riff in order to be considered a gospel song? I had a few girls do a "gospel" version/remix of a few Beyonce songs.."crazy in love"..or "dangerously in love"...It took me about 10 seconds to figure out what in the hell they were trying to sing. As I was writing down their critique, I put ..."under no circumstances will we ever pass her the mic for a solo"......oh noooo.
Now, about 5 or 6 girls blew me away with their vocals and one girl simply gave me chills. Think of Kim Burrell meets Sarah Vaughn with the rich warm tones of Anita Baker. I gave her a standing ovation. So I am debating tonight should I even make any cuts whatsoever? The people who sounded like wet gremlins trapped in an attic could just sing the chorus and contribute to the overall volume of the choir while the soloist really add the flare, right?
The last thing I'd hate to do is cut a kid whose heart is into singing (but simply has no voice) and then they have no afterschool activity. What would they do with their idle time after they left school? Get into trouble? Maybe I will assign them to be the choreographers of the gospel choir because I want to really make this choir unique!
I had a few flashbacks to the movies, "Siser Act" while the auditions took place. I'm looking forward to entering as many competitions in and out of NYC as possible! Thankfully, we have at least 4-5 guys and girls who play instruments or make beats in our group. So I want to see what kinds of songs these kids will create from scratch! I am soooooooo happy about this project. Now, the challenging part.....finding the funds to get these kids instruments so that we can practice and get a band going to back up the singers and...nonsingers! lol
If you know of anyone who has an old instrument they'd like to donate or if you find a listing off of craigslist you want to forward to me of used instruments...keyboards, guitars, etc....let me know! I can't wait to invite you all to one of their concerts!...or better yet...have them come to a local church meeting or service and sing to YOU! Hold up...let me not get ahead of myself. I still have to figure out how to drown out the William Hung's in the group....Lord help me!
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3 comments:
Great post! Ya had me cracking up over here. LOL @ wet gremlins.
I'm glad to hear that you found some gems out of the bunch, I'm looking forward to hearing more about this new endeavor.
This was hilarious!! I can only imagine your face during the auditions!!! But God is using you in soooo many ways to bless those kids. It's gonna work out. If I learn of any resources that would be helpful, I'll definately put a sista on!!!
i love it! u had me dyin! i'm so glad u decided 2 do this. music is so essential in school IMO. now about the students who r a bit less talented (lol)..so long as they're not tone deaf u can work with that. try them out 2 see if they can harmonize. if they can harmonize then that works, cuz all they need 2 do is sing choruses. if u have a good 3-4 soloists, that's awesome. i love music, especially gospel, i think this is a great move 4 u! keep the blogs coming :)
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