All East

Yesterday, Lisa and I enjoyed the wonderful opportunity of attending the East Tennessee Vocal Association All East event held at Abba’s House in Hixson (near Chattanooga). Many other parents, family members and friends from the region did the same.

From ETVA’s website, we learn that “All-East is an annual ETVA event featuring performances by the All-East TN Middle School, Freshmen, Men’s, Women’s, and SATB Choruses. On the weekend before Thanksgiving the students meet for two days of rehearsals with guest conductors and give a performance at the end of the weekend. Participation in an All-East Chorus is competitive and is a source of great pride to students and their directors. Participation in an All-East chorus is a prerequisite for a position in the Tennessee All-State Chorus.”

To a lay person such as myself, the concert featured an assembly of some of the most beautiful voices in East Tennessee under the direction of caring and dedicated teachers and conductors. I don’t know how to make that kind of music but I appreciate it when I hear it.

From Farragut High School alone, a total of 20 teens attended the All East event. But many other East Tennessee High Schools were also represented.

And their voices were fantastic.

The venue, too, was amazing. I read online later that Abba’s House ‘ain’t your momma’s Baptist Church.’ That is definitely true. If you didn’t know you were in a church sanctuary, you might imagine you were in a professional commercial theatre.

For those of us in the audience, the experience was magical and musical. For the singers themselves, it was about them doing something they truly love at a special time in their lives.

For three days, they got to be away from the regular high school routine, pursuing their passion, and making memories with their best friends and making new friends from across the region. 

I think that is part of what high school is all about. Whether your passion is music or theatre or sports or whatever, it’s all about “getting out there and doing it.” It’s about learning new skills and improving old ones. It’s about participating in experiences you’ll remember for years to come.

For them, this weekend was about all that and more.

JG

(Source: etva.org)

Originally posted 11/20/2011