As I sit here, jet lagged, coming down from the high of the amazing Westminster College Choir tour to Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic, I am reflecting on my years as a choir member, both in the Kettering Children's Choir for ten years and in the Westminster Choirs for two.

I remember going to the audition for Kettering Children's Choir as a third grader, quite nervous, having no idea what an experience I was signing up for. Through the years, I moved through Choraleers, Chorus, Chorale, and Concert Choir, with practice every Tuesday. I had countless opportunities through KCC, from choir trips across the state and country, too many to count, to singing with the Dayton Opera in their production of Turandot, and the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra for the Nutcracker, and the Dayton Bach Society. Best of all, my sophomore year of high school, I had the incredible opportunity to travel to France with the choir. We went to Paris, and some other cities, but best of all was singing the U.S. national anthem in the cemetery at Normandy, overlooking the ocean, looking out at all of the cross and star of David gravestones, so precisely lined up with one another. I remember bawling at my final KCC spring concert. It was hard for me to imagine finding another group that was as fun and meaningful to be a part of.

This brings me to the past two years. I started at Westminster as a biology and music double major. I now am minoring in music. Some people joke about my odd choices in studies, but for me, there was never a question of whether I should be studying music. I have been part of Women's Chorus both years, but this past semester, I joined Concert Choir and Chamber Singers. The amount of work we have done in these groups this semester is baffling. I doubt I would be able to name everything, but the Choir tour was definitely the highlight, and perfect end to the year. Going to practice every weekday and often performances on the weekends can get monotonous, but it is in the magnificent churches and random places that the work, and beauty of the music we sing really can be appreciated. We sang in three different churches, one in each of Munich, Vienna, and the Czech Republic, and a few other places, but overall, my absolute favorite was impromptu on the Charles Bridge in Prague. We slowly gathered as we were meeting to go to dinner after exploring the city. The number of people who stopped and listened was astounding. Never have I felt so connected to the people I was singing with. We stood in a half circle and we could see everyone who we were singing with. The compilation of the rainy atmosphere, the raw sound of singing in the open air, and the lyrics were such a "perfect storm" of an experience.

"Sing me a lullaby, a love song, a requiem! Love me, comfort me, bring me to God, sing me to heaven."

So, I guess the reason I'm writing this is to say thank you. Thank you to music, to chorale music, to everyone I've ever been in choir with, to accompanists to directors. Singing in a choir can be a life changing experience. If you never have, you are truly missing out. I'm going to be cliche for a moment and say that music brings people together. The people singing, and the people experiencing it.

Thank you to Mrs. Henderson, Mr. Swank, Dr. DeHorn, Mr. Jauss, Dr. Barbara, Mr. Ambert, Mr. Groves, and most of all my dad. You have all had a hand in cultivating a love of music and more specifically chorale music within me, and for that, I am eternally grateful. Dad, thanks for taking me to every KCC rehearsal, and dress rehearsal, for helping the choirs, and always being there for me. I wouldn't be who I am today without you!