on a high note

So last night was, for me, a night I would never forget. I currently sing in the soprano section of the Kansas City Symphony Chorus and last night we had our annual performance of Handel's Messiah. As I've sung this piece probably 150 time before, not any one of those performances could be compared to the raw emotion and energy received from our audience of 5000 last night. I didn't even care that they spelled my name wrong in the program. :)

Uncommonly, there was applause after every piece. The Hallelujah Chorus wasn't even finished when some members of the audience felt the need to express their gratitude. At the completion of masterpiece people rose to their feet to display one of the fastest and longest standing ovations I've ever had the pleasure of experiencing. Our director, Steven Jarvi, took me on an emotional ride of my life when he ever so graciously put his hand on his heart multiple times throughout the performance to show his love for the music and it's participants. The soprano soloist, Keira Duffy, took her music to the next level by adding in extra notes and runs to make it her own, and succeeded flawlessly.
I was so moved by the emotion building in that large auditorium that I could barely read the last for bars of "Worthy is the Lamb" thanks to the tears welling up in my eyes. Thank goodness all I had to sing was "A-men" and since I've done it many times before, had it memorized.

The choir takes up my free time on Monday nights for rehearsal and most of the week during performance weeks. And although I am saddened that those nights I don't tuck my kids into bed, or don't spend anytime with my husband, when I have a performance such as the one last night, I remember why I do it all. Aside from my family, this is my passion. Putting all my efforts into something so big and to share it with thousands of people on the same emotional ride as myself puts all the sacrifices in line.

I can't wait until the day I get the privilege to share this with my children. That would be a dream come true.

For more info:
KC Symphony Chorus
KC Symphony Orchestra
Handel's Messiah performance