Hi, folks!
This week I had an opportunity to witness the culmination of many years of focused study, grueling practices, late-into-the-night rehearsals, and difficult sacrifices. My daughter, Melanie (Allison's twin, for those of you who know newbie Gatherite Alli!), is a performance major at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY, studying voice. She hopes to sing on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera someday, and has worked incredibly hard for her bachelor's degree requirements. She will actually be "taking five" next year, which means take an extra year of voice lessons, so that she can also be awarded a double degree. She's earn a bachelor's degree in psychology as well as music.
All seniors are required to do a senior recital. Melanie's was held on Monday, and I must say, her mom, grandmother, and I were so proud I was surprised my buttons didn't burst and dance across the stage floor!
We couldn't take photos during the recital, but it was spectacular. In addition to a wonderful pianist who accompied her, she included a clarinet player and a whole orchestra, including a harpist! What a thrill. My "little girl," stood proudly on stage in a sparkly pink princess dress, singing like an angel. ;o)
I don't have a current recording of her voice, but over the years I've made CDs of her songs and would love to have you visit my writing website, where I feature Melanie singing on many of the pages. Here are a few to try, if you have time and like a pretty soprano voice.
http://www.legardemysteries.com/recommendedreading.htm
http://www.legardemysteries.com/pressreleases.htm
http://www.legardemysteries.com/freearticlesessays.htm
We were blessed that almost every important person from Melanie's past attended the recital. Of course, I bombarded them with emails months in advance and didn't let up until a week before the event! LOL! Above is a picture of Melanie with her high school drama coach, Bettina DeBell, and her elementary and high school music teacher, Chandra Downs. If you have read the second book in the LeGarde Mysteries (Upstaged), you may recognize Bettina's name from the dedication. Lots of great color and background material for Upstaged was absorbed by sitting in the back of the auditorium while Melanie prepared for 13 musicals over the years.
All in all, it was a most amazing day. I just had to share this with my Gather friends. Happy sigh. It was one of those great moments in a father's life, a special occasion I will never forget...
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Comments: 24
You are a wonderful father and can see you have wonderfully blessed children. You are lucky and they are lucky. I bet you teared up just writing this piece~did you not?
What an accomplishment and wish her all the luck....but she already has that.
Jackie
Hey, Jackie. I think you know me too well. Yup, eyes were welling up as I wrote this. It's not my most eloquent piece, but it I just needed to share with you folks. I wish you couldn've seen the pride in my wife's eyes... she was just glowing. She suffers from MS and doesn't have many days like this, so it was extra special from that point of view!
Thank you, Rose. I love your icon, by the way. Beautiful!
Congratulations to both you and your daughter. All parents should be as dedicated as you have been.
I had a similar experience with my niece, Nicole. She took voice, cello and piano lessons starting at the age of six. Shortly after graduating high school, she gave a recital performance and left all of us shockingly open mouthed and breathless. She's gotten even better as she aged (like a fine wine) and now plays with a chamber group and sings with the Esoterics in the Seattle area.
It's really great to have "our kids" dedicated to the performing arts, singing or playing their way into the hearts of their audiences and bringing honor to their parents.
Congratulations, again.
Your niece sounds like a really talented woman. You know it's a gift from God when these young people come into our lives and then bless us with such wonderful music!
Thank you so much for your very kind words. ;o)
Hi, Debbie! Jenn's volunteer job may not be as high on the glamour scale, but you are so right, it's one of the most important jobs we humans can do. I am so proud of her and how hard she works. One more year in nursing school, then she'll choose a field to work in. She was interested in working in the psych ward, or possibly obstretrics as a career to focus on. We'll see what the next year brings! At least I know she'll have a good job when it's over. ;o)
Hi, Deb! Thank you for stopping by! Always a pleasure. ;o)