Brotherhood of Musicians

At the end of November and beginning of December, before all the holiday concerts took over every spare moment, I had the honor of singing in the Star Wars in Concert performance. The CleveOrch Chamber Chorus was contracted to sing as the Royal Philharmonic Chorus for performances in Pittsburgh, Columbus and Cleveland.

There were 60 singers, and I had a blast! We were able to meet Anthony Daniels, who played See Threepio. We observed some very talented musicians and heard incredible music. Those of us who wanted to were able to stay for the second half of the show in Cleveland and see how this incredible show was put together.



I'm standing on the back row, the rightmost woman as the camera pans across.



The orchestra had been put together in England, but other musicians had been added in the States over the course of the tour. To walk backstage and see so many professional musicians, ranging in age from their late teens or early 20s to their 60s, was thrilling.

There are so many young people who have talent and dream of careers as musicians, and yet it's a very hard dream to achieve. Seeing all these musicians together, to know that here, and in many other venues nationwide, are jobs for talented musicians. I felt pleased and encouraged.

We were seated behind the percussionists. As the mother of a percussionist, I loved seeing the interactions between these musicians. I loved seeing the camaraderie and the joy in the music they were making.

I felt very lucky to be participating in this concert, and in listening to these talented musicians.

In the end, it's all about the music. It's about the joy and fulfillment and inspiration we get from the music. Aren't we lucky?!