Youth Choristers of Anglican Church of the Resurrection Sing At Texas Choral Festival
From good friend and ACR Music Director, Robin Segarra. (Pictures and, possibly, a sound sample forthcoming).
Be sure to attend the next AAC general meeting, Saturday, 19 April (9 AM-Noon) which will feature the Resurrection Youth Choir in song. Robin will give a presentation on running (or starting) a successful youth choir at your church.
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At the end of February, the Senior Choristers (the youth choir) of Anglican Church of the Resurrection (ACR) got on an airplane bound for Texas. The thirteen singers, grades six and up, were en route to Baylor University for a youth choir festival drawing singers from around the country. What a weekend we were in for!
After hours of traveling, we arrived at Baylor University in Waco on Friday evening for the first rehearsal with the 350 plus singers, led by nationally renowned youth choir director, Randy Edwards. After months of independent work by each church youth choir, the singers knew their notes and words, and the focus was on polishing to a high level the ten anthems for Sunday's Grand Concert which was to be accompanied by Baylor's Symphony Orchestra.
From the first rehearsal to the final performance, our weekend was filled with fine music, a call to excellence, fellowship with Christian brothers and sisters, and an immersion in the praise of God. We hadn't been at the festival 24 hours when my singers were asking when we could "do it again." The Grand Concert on Sunday was fantastic, with crashing cymbals, majestic brass, and harmonious young voices singing the words of Jesus ("In His Own Words," by Dan Goeller). Incredible!
As we travelled in our van from Baylor back to the airport in Dallas, I asked our youth, "What was your favorite experience from the weekend?" The first answer - "EVERYTHING!" Some of the more specific feedback included "singing with the orchestra," "the percussion - the big drums and cymbals," and "the director, Randy Edwards."
There was a time that I'd have thought an experience like this with ACR's youth choir was beyond our reach, a nice dream and nothing more. With planning, hard work, fund raising, and lots of support and prayers, the dream became a reality, indeed a powerful and treasured memory for a group of thirteen youth from Anglican Church of the Resurrection.
