STM Youth Choir

     The school year is coming to a close, and that means the end of the religious ed program at St. Thomas More. The youth choir meets every week before religious ed, so they'll be done for the summer, too. I played piano for their rehearsals all year, and now that it's ending I'm realizing how great of an experience it was.
     First of all, the kids are wonderful. Being in a choir is kind of self-selective, and these kids' behavior is an indication of that. The choir includes first- through eighth-graders, and I've never met a bunch more enthusiastic about praising God in song. They sing their hearts out at every rehearsal. They beg to sing certain hymns over and over. They learn new songs faster than most adult choirs.
     It's interesting for me to watch them interact, since I never went to school and don't know what it's like being a kid in public school. There are sets of best friends, close cousins, and siblings who love each other. Someone always has a story to tell or a question to ask. They talk about what they're doing at school, what they're learning in RE, where they're going on vacation. They are a lively bunch of kids, and they have so much joy.
     Musically, too, this experience has helped me. My sight-reading skills have improved quite a bit over the past year, due to sitting down and having to play hymns and part-songs on the spot. The kids don't care how much I mess up, but sometimes they tell me I should practice. (They're always right.) It's nice to work on something, even something little, that isn't part of my actual piano repertoire. And it's nice knowing I'm accompanying a forgiving crowd. Sometimes they ask me to play a solo I'm working on while they aren't singing. When they sing in a circle, they like to watch the hammers strike the keys inside the piano. Spending time with people who are so fascinated by the instrument definitely breaks up the monotony of the practice-lesson-practice cycle.

At their Christmas Program in December--I'm behind the piano.

     I'll miss playing for youth choir. I'll miss the way the kids remember my name and talk to me, even if I don't remember which one they are. I'll miss their exuberance and their willingness to try new things. I hope that, in some small way, I've made a difference in their lives.