This week I attended a strings concert by local middle school and high school students.
Initially, I figured all that was really necessary was to take a few representative photos of the evenings affair and then I could scoot along home.
Once I arrived, things quickly changed.
First off, I and all the guests were greeted at the door by the trio of Daniel Kays, Bowlus executive director, Brad Crusinbery, IMS principal, and Dan Davis, a local minister.
Its amazing how a warm welcome helps set the tone for whatever lies ahead. Even if you didnt know a soul, these people made you feel wanted.
Once inside the recital hall the audience was quietly bustling about while the students, all smartly dressed in black, were notably nervous. After all, it was a big night.
Loaded down with camera gear I was glad to see fellow photographer Terri Kretzmeier and headed her way. At formal recitals such as this I always feel self-conscious snapping photos, not wanting to be a distraction.
Before long, the music started and the audience went still, interrupting only to enthusiastically applaud at the conclusion of each number.
Before long, I pretty much forgot why I was there. The music was so good.
An hour-and-a-half later, I left the concert amid parents and grandparents, listening to them congratulate the students for a job well done.
THE EVENING was full of valuable lessons:
Music is good for the soul.
Learning to read music and play a musical instrument is a lifelong gift.
Watching a live performance even by sixth-graders is rewarding.
The Bowlus Fine Arts Center makes every event special.
We are blessed to have music instructor Elizabeth Cunningham teach these youngsters such challenging instruments as violins and violas, which come at no cost to the students.
The latter point needs some fleshing out.
Cunningham, an Iola High School 2008 graduate and graduate of Emporia State University, joined the school district in 2016 to teach choir and orchestra.
When she arrived, the strings program, in particular, was so lacking that Cunningham was forced to purchase new music from her own pocketbook.
