Yesterday, Tuesday, July 19th, 2005, was the first time that I had the opportunity to attend one of your summer concerts. In previous years, I would occasionally hear portions of rehearsals or portions of the concert because I was doing other things at church or with another organization. The purpose of this letter is to give a thunderous round of applause to you, the instructors, and participants and to express my sincere appreciation for the outstanding performance by all concerned.
When I looked at the printed program, I saw that you had a variety of approaches to your planned program. Little did I know that I would see unfold before my eyes a beautiful mosaic that would take my breath away. The soloists, due, quartet, quintet, and ensembles showed how truly successful the program has been in teaching your young musicians to be all that they can be. It was so good that I hope that you will consider making a CD of the concert or having a special session for a CD.
It was a pure delight to hear that arrangement of Amazing Grace, my favorite hymn, for the trombone ensemble. It just proves that the creativity that lies within us is infinite and that your organization has the capacity to serve us a delicious plate of music to satisfy the tastes of the ordinary person or the exquisite demands of the musical connoisseur.
I also saw in your students the look of friendliness, joy and contentment. I did not detect anything that gave me the impression that someone did not want to be there.
As the concert moved along – and just when I thought that things could not get any better, you pulled out another gem. When the faculty did its thing with “Cherokee”, I watched the reactions of your students as they looked on with admiration and awe while the group performed. I learned something new about Davey Yarborough. I knew that you played reed instruments, the piano, and probably had a working knowledge of the other instruments in the band. I was surprised, delighted, and flabbergasted at your performances on the percussion instruments. I know that if I had closed my eyes, I could have imagined that I was listening to someone like Gene Krupa in his prime.
You and yours have set an extremely high standard for all who follow and I wish you the best of everything. Surely, the hand of God is present in what you are doing. I hope that all of you know that God is on our side, but each one must decide if we will let him play with us or kick him off our team because we do not like the way he jams.
Finally I wish that someone from the media had been there so that your program could get some of the recognition that is so well deserved. This community and others in the nation and the world needs to know about these good works.
Sincerely,
Nat Moore, an admirer and member of Peoples Congregational Church