Choral Potpourri/Choral Ethics: Being Grateful

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“I am grateful for what I am and have. My thanksgiving is perpetual.” Henry David Thoreau

I always try to be grateful. In this season of Thanksgiving, I am more grateful than usual. Perhaps our world is in upheaval but there is one thing I know for sure; there is plenty more Good than there is evil in the world. And for that Good, I am grateful.

ChoralNet is pretty great. I am lucky to have been a ChoralNet User since 1995 (24 years, does that even make sense?). The people I’ve met and the knowledge I’ve had access to have helped me in my career in so many ways. I’ve been a ChoralNet Moderator since 2011 and have been blessed to work with some of the best human beings it has been my privilege to know.  I am grateful for my fellow Moderators and Scott and Sundra too!

We choral folk are beginning our yearly marathon of madness, from rehearsals and concerts and worship services to the family events we must attend. I am grateful for the busyness, for the opportunity to share our Art and for the knowledge what we do matters.

Singing in a choir is something that draws people together and when the world is going to heck, it is healing. I am grateful for the opportunity to occasionally sing in a chorus myself. It makes me feel great to let someone else take over the “steering wheel” too. I’ll be part of a Roosevelt University Alumni Chorus, performing my absolute FAVORITE large choral work in May, so I am grateful to Dr. Cheryl Frazes Hill for offering me the opportunity.

I am grateful for the music; the music I know and the music I don’t yet know. It was a privilege to have wonderful teachers, both male and female, guide me and for those pedagogues, Dr. R., Dr. L., Dr. H. and my darling Dr. G., I am grateful.

I work with a group of wonderful singers in my own chamber choir. Their musicianship and their constant growth humble and amaze me. Along with my wonderful accompanist, Ben, (who also sings bari-tenor or is it tenor-tone?) I am grateful for Kari, Marcella, Katie, Cindy, Althea, Emile and Ben too. I don’t know what I did to deserve them but I am happy they are in my life.

I am grateful for having enough to eat, a good and warm place to sleep and people I love to share it with me. Of course, I am grateful for my family. My great husband, Chuck, and our three sons Russell, Gregory and Benjamin are the light of my life. Most days, our life together isn’t perfect, but some days, it’s practically perfect….we have a great life! I am honored and grateful for having had such wonderful parents who allowed me to dream and supported me in subtle ways. My Dad still does, coming to almost every concert I conduct and Baby Bro is my rock.

I live in a wonderful, diverse community with a great sense of what it means to be a community. I am blessed to be able to work with many, many wonderful fellow musicians and visual artists and business people sharing a vision for our community; for all of them (too numerous to name), I am grateful.

I have wonderful friends, some have been part of my life for a long time and some have been part of my life for a short time. Robin, my oldest friend, is the only person I’ll name here but the others know who they are. And I hope they know what they truly mean to me. I am grateful for the fun times and serious times and silly times we’ve shared too!

I am a very healthy person, outside of allergies, and am rarely sick.  So, I am grateful for my good health and the relatively good health of those I love. Son Russell’s autism doesn’t count as illness; his ability to overcome some of his challenges and remain a sweet guy is something for which I am grateful.

There are many, many more people and things I am grateful for…including YOU!

Happy Thanksgiving, ChoralNet!