D E C E MB E R 201 4
A Christmas UPDATE
THE GIFT OF SONG By Dr. Erik Buxton, Director of Choral Activities
S
ing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord, bless his name; proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day. Psalm 96:1-2
Cantabile, Pisgah’s upper school chorus, recently sang at a church where a 95-year-old parishioner had recently lost her 93-year-old sister. You know these kinds of sisters. The ones, who after outliving their respective husbands, move in together. They were very close and both sang in choirs as kids and as adults, until they could not sing anymore. The surviving sister heard that the chorus would be singing at her church’s services, and although she had not attended since the death of her sister, she decided to make the return for the special program.
I noted that she wept throughout the service, I expect for many reasons. She told me afterward that she was glad she came. As a former educator, she was reminded of the hope that resides “in the hearts and on the faces of those beautiful children.” She went on to say that her mind was flooded with memories of herself and her sister singing in their high school choir “oh so many years ago.” She said that this would be the first Christmas in more than ninety years that she will not see her sister on Christmas day. She offered thanks to me for bringing, “these beautiful children to lift the spirits of an old lady at Christmastime.” I promise you, our students were the greater beneficiaries of that experience. As artists, we often perform for the joy of entertaining, but sometimes we are able to use our gifts to truly lift someone, and we do not always know who that is and how it will happen. As you weather the torrent of holiday hustle and Christmas cheer, keep your heart attuned to opportunities to be a blessing to those in your path; you may never know how gigantically a small act can impact others.