It’s subtle, but for about the past week I’ve been aware of that infinitesimal yet distinct shift that announces the imminent arrival of autumn.
It’s the slightly cooler air, the slightly shorter days, the slight difference in the angle and intensity of the sunshine.
And I find myself remembering the back-to-school excitement of elementary and junior high school. Those were the days when we got new school clothes — practical and warm outfits made of wool, which were brutal to wear when the usual California heatwave arrived in early to mid-September.
I loved school, so I was usually ready for summer to end. I loved the colors of the foliage and the windy days of fall.
I love all these things still, although nowadays I get anxious about increased wildfire risk when the fall weather gets windy.
There’ve been a few times over the past ten years or so when I’ve found myself reflecting on my jazz band days and recalling key experiences from that time.
Near the end of my saxophone playing days there was an arrangement of the jazz standard “Bill Bailey” that I remember as being quite challenging. I’m not sure why it kept coming to mind periodically but I’ve wished I could revisit it in order to remember what made it so hard.
I tried to find it a few years ago with no luck, but for some reason it came to my mind again tonight and this time I found a video, performed by a jazz band of young musicians from Barcelona, Spain (of all places)!
Listening to it validated my memory of it being challenging, but let me tell you, these young folk nailed it!
And to top it all off, I even stumbled across the actual sheet music. Totally fun.
Well, I couldn’t help but dig a little deeper into the phenomenon that is the PS22 Chorus and (of course) the more I read and listened, the more intrigued I became, and the deeper I went into the rabbit hole.
One amazing thing I learned is that the teacher, Gregg Breinberg, founded the PS22 chorus way back in 2000! How did it take me so long to find them?!?
Here are a few words from an interview that blogger, Beth Hopkins, did with Mr. B (as his students call him) that I believe captures the essence of what makes this chorus so special:
“Not only are their voices beautiful; they are a delight to watch. Every single member of the Chorus dances and smiles, clapping their hands; their enthusiasm is reckless and palpable. As someone passionate about creative expression, whether mine or that of others, PS-22 Chorus inspires me. They are artists. They are completely engaged in their performances. And their cooperative spirit and unabashed joy is something we could all use.” — Beth Hopkins
I think many adult singers could learn a lot about making music from these young people.
I could go on and on, but instead I’ll just share the links to a few of the articles and a podcast about the chorus and Mr. B. There’s been a ton written about them over the past twenty-four years — especially when they were invited to sing for the Academy Awards ceremony in 2011 (one of the links below is a video of their live performance)!
I hope you enjoy discovering them as much as I have.
I’ve happened upon the PS22 Chorus a few times before, but today I saw a couple of videos that really touched my heart.
The first was their end-of-year send-off/graduation song to Taylor Swift’s, “Long Live.” Seeing these young people so connected — to the music, to one another — and feeling it all so deeply…well, it just moves me to tears.
Then I stumbled on the video where their teacher surprises his parents with their special song on their 50th anniversary. So sweet!
But one comment on the video really stood out for me:
“This video is proof positive that songs are timeless, ageless, and can make you smile and cry at the same time! PS22–thank you for joyously opening this musical time capsule from 1974 and creating a happily ever after moment for this beautiful couple! Happy Anniversary!”
What stopped me in my tracks was… “musical time capsule from 1974!” Hahaha! I was assuming his parents were “old,” only to realize that they got married the year I graduated high school.
Because I had a couple of bouts of atrial fibrillation during my bone marrow transplant adventure back in the fall of 2022, I’ve had to follow up with a cardiologist.
It was also recommended that I do a sleep study last spring.
So, today was both my annual cardiology check-in and learning the results of the sleep study.
I’m very happy to report that I’m A-OK on all counts. Yay!
(Well, there’s very mild sleep apnea. Though it’s not enough for the doctor to prescribe anything, I’m taking it as motivation to get serious about beefing up my self-care once again.)
Someone paired the above quote with a poem by Mary Oliver and the combination really hit home for me.
The Wisest Thing I Know Ten times a day something happens to me like this – some strengthening throb of amazement – some good sweet empathic ping and swell. This is the first, the wildest and the wisest thing I know: that the soul exists and is built entirely out of attentiveness. -Mary Oliver
Many years ago at Science of Mind I learned another way of stating this powerful truth: Where attention goes, energy flows.
It makes sense to me that this is how we become (and how our soul-being is built) according to what we pay attention to.
I guess I’m more attuned than usual to the approach of “letting go” season. I certainly don’t recall noticing so many little hints of red in the midst of mostly green foliage in past years.
I also happen to be gearing up to (hopefully) accomplish some letting go of my own — namely decluttering and releasing things I no longer use, need, or resonate with.
