“This will be our answer to violence: to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before.” ~ Leonard Bernstein

I’ll be traveling for most of the day tomorrow, so I’ve decided to post my weekly “Sunday Love Song” a day early.  Rather than posting another song about romantic love, this post is about love for the resilient human spirit.

Last night my family attended a benefit concert for the Newtown/Sandy Hook families.  The event was produced by my daughter’s voice studio, The Studio Performing Arts, and directed by her vocal coach, the wonderful Chris York.  Each song in the program inspired hope.  Some of the older kids performed original songs.  They were all amazing.

Needless to say, I should have brought Kleenex.

I always enjoy going to the voice recitals, and watching kids of all ages step up on the stage and sing with their entire beings.  Every time we attend, each student’s remarkable courage, enthusiasm, talent, and growth strike me.

For this performance, Chris forced my daughter outside of her singing comfort zone (belting) and into her head voice (the high end of her range) to sing “Somewhere” from West Side Story.  She and her friend Sadie, who made her Broadway debut in Mary Poppins at nine years old, were paired together for a duet.  My daughter (the tall one) sings the melody and Sadie jumps in to harmonize.  I think they did a lovely job.

What do you think?

xo-Jamie