Singing Roll Call, Sitting Silently, and a Crowded School Bus

Thursday morning I woke up later than normal. I crawled out of bed about 20 minutes before I was set to leave, because I didn't have much preparing for the day to accomplish; it was regional choir festival day. I had my sparkly gold and black Vocal Ensemble dress as well as my L.O.V.E dress on coat hangers draped over the back of a chair in the dining room, which I eventually stuffed into my Hufflepuff drawstring bag to carry with me throughout the day. I packed my lunch in a brown paper bag, which haven't done that since probably elementary school! I grabbed my camera and drawstring bags plus my lunch, and I was ready to go.

When I got to school, the day proceeded in its normal fashion. I went to the cafeteria and sat with some of my church friends until the bell released us to go to class. All of the choir students gathered in Mrs. Elliott's room while we waited to board the buses. She called out everyone's names to confirm who was present then we were set to go. (Vocal Ensemble got their own bus which was exciting.) I sat next to my friend Dalton on the way down there, who continuously munched on beef jerky and sipped his Mountain Dew White Out. Probably one of the most hilarious moments was at the beginning of the bus ride our student teacher, Ms. Spohr, called roll once again but everyone wanted to make a song out of it. Students were keeping the rhythm by drumming on the bus seat in front of them and whenever a student didn't respond with "here" immediately the "flow" of roll call was ruined. When we pulled up to the church I immediately recognized it because I had performed there many times in both middle and high school.

All of the choirs except S.O.U.L went inside and found a place to sit. Many of the S.O.U.L choir members handed me their jackets and stuff since they were about to go warm up and couldn't take that with them. We carried everything inside and placed all our belongings in the back pews of the sanctuary. I sat beside Hailey the whole time, with Vaughn, Kaylie, Grace, and Zoe behind me. The sanctuary was supposed to be absolutely silent while other choirs performed, but naturally it always wasn't. Luke was folding and ripping paper out of his binder and there was always coughing, sneezing, or whispering. After only two choirs, S.O.U.L made their way on stage. This choir was particularly recognizable because their robin blue t-shirts stand out compared the sea of black dresses and tuxes usually seen at choir competitions. All ninety or so of them filled the stage. It was so weird to think about how just last year I would have been standing on stage with that group in S.O.U.L shirt (that wasn't my own because I lost mine) and blue jeans. The three pieces they sang were absolutely stunning! I loved being able to watch my sister sing her heart out. I took pictures for Yearbook and for my own enjoyment while Mrs. Elliott, Mrs. Grossman, and Ms. Spohr conducted the pieces. Here's one of them:

They ended up getting a superior on both their sight reading and singing... S.O.U.L is going to the state festival! The next group from our school to be on stage was M.O.V.E, but that wasn't until a couple hours later. Once they did, though, I had their repertoire stuck in my head ALL day. A funny moment was when we were sitting in the sanctuary, many people began to raid the back pews for snacks. We were all starting to get hungry. The noise of the wrappers crackling and crunching echoed through the room. I grabbed two oatmeal cookies for Hailey and I and it made my stomach finally stop growling.

Shortly after that was lunch time. We sat outside because it felt nice outside, and what a sight it was to see the guys in their tuxes sitting in the grass bothered by their surroundings. On top of that, we all arranged ourselves in small circles to talk among each other, with something interesting happening or being said almost everywhere. This also included Weston's tortilla being thrown around like a frisbee. It was one of those moments of pure contentment that I wish I could pause and live in forever. Everything was hilarious, and everyone was smiling or laughing. 

After lunch was when things started to get hectic. Vocal Ensemble met outside the sanctuary, and speedily got dressed in order to get to the warm-up room on time. Or at least I did. Matt lead the group outside and down some stairs to get to the room where would practice before we took the stage. The moment that meant the most to me throughout that whole day was getting to sing "Blessing in the Leaving". "Blessing" is a song that Matt picked out in remembrance of his friend Luke who passed away.

These are the words:
In the leaving
in the letting go
let there be this
to hold onto
at the last:
the enduring of love
the persisting of hope
the remembering of joy
the offering of gratitude
the receiving of grace
the blessing of peace.

It's such a powerful, emotional piece and it makes me think of my mom. While we were warming up I couldn't help but think about all the times she supported me, especially in choir. I would come home crying when I didn't make L.O.V.E or didn't do well at solo and ensemble. She would be at each and every choir concert she could. She was always there. And oh how I wish she could've seen the day that my dreams of being in L.O.V.E and Vocal Ensemble came true. The way we quietly sang the last word "love" and cut off together left those watching either in tears or they stood up to clap for us. We continued onward to the sight reading room following that, and it was easier than I remembered. I sat in the first chair next to the keyboard where our judge was seated. As a whole, we ended up doing really well! The L.O.V.E girls quickly changed outfits because their choir was next (and last) and we were already running behind.

By the end of the day, every MJHS choir had received superiors in everything. EVERYONE WAS GOING TO BE GOING TO STATE FESTIVAL. L.O.V.E got the second highest score of the week, while M.O.V.E and Vocal Ensemble got the same score. We were the last school left at the church, and we waited for over an hour for our bus to come pick us up. I chatted with Jake, Hailey, Grace, Kaylie, Dillon, Maddie, and some others. When the bus did actually get there, it ended up being much smaller than Mrs. Elliott had anticipated. Some people rode back to the school with chaperones, while of course I was fortunate enough to be squeezed in the back of the bus. Fun times! :-) I remember sitting on the edge of the seat, gripping the one beside me just so I didn't fall off into the middle aisle. It felt like an eternity to get back to school from Murfreesboro. Anyway, we did make it back, and I went home tired and wishing I could go to bed.

It was a long day, but a good one overall. I wish my time in choir didn't have to end. It made me sad when I realized that was the first and last time I'd ever sing there as a member of Vocal Ensemble and L.O.V.E.. I'm so thankful for my choir family which constantly brightens my day, makes me feel welcome, and also allows me to grow as a musician.

That's why I write these blog posts, because these are moments I want to hold on to after it's all over.

Love always,
Allison