Pretty Funny!

I teach voice lessons. One of the big events of the year is the Southern Utah Performing Arts Festival. About half of my students decided to enter with solos, and one of my more advanced students had a great idea: Do an acapella quartet of “Prayer of the Children” with three other of my students. They only know each other from my recitals, but she thought it would be fun. So I asked three others and they all thought it would be a great idea. They are from all over the county and all go to different high schools in the area. Each of them worked hard on their part at home, then we put it together in a couple of practices. Then, one of them realized she couldn’t be there because today is the day they were putting her brother into the MTC, and she couldn't get back in time. So, I asked another student to fill in. She worked so hard and learned it in just a week. So, today, we get there at the appointed rehearsal time(4:10pm)and our soprano didn’t show up! She just didn’t come. So I sang her part to rehearse with them, hoping she would show up soon. Their assigned time was 5:05, and I had several students singing solos before that, so I was so nervous, watching the clock and hoping the wayward soprano would show. But she didn’t. So when it was time for the quartet to sing, I just explained to the judge that one of them hadn’t come and asked if I could fill in. I just couldn’t see sending the others home without doing it, when they’d worked so hard(especially the one who learned and memorized it in a week) and come so far (one comes from a town 30 minutes away) I didn’t have it memorized, so we had to use music, but I must say, we sounded pretty darn good. The judge was very complimentary and, though I think I might have docked us for using a teacher, she didn’t, and gave us a superior rating! I just laughed out loud on the way home at what had just happened: I’d entered a student festival at age 52 and got a superior! How many people can say that? Is that on anyone’s bucket list??? Not mine either, but I must say it is pretty funny!