It was the fall semester of 1981, my second year at West Texas State University.
Each year the choirs of WTSU and Amarillo College joined with the Amarillo Symphony for a grand concert. The previous year had been Beethoven’s 9th Symphony.
Maestro Thomas Conlin, the conductor of the Symphony visited us in the rehearsal of the WTSU Chorale to tell us that this year’s concert would be “Carmina Burana.” He joked that many people would ask, “Who is this Carmina Burana, and what will she sing?”
“Carmina Burana” is actually a cantata composed in 1935 and 1936 by Carl Orff, based on 24 poems from the medieval collection of the same name. Actually, the full Latin name is “Carmina Burana: Cantiones profanae cantoribus et choris cantandae comitantibus instrumentis atque imaginibus magicis.” (Now you know why it is simply known as “Carmina Burana.”)
It was a great experience to sing this cantata in that context (all in Latin and German) both with the Amarillo Symphony and in our spring choir tour where we were a featured choir at the Texas Music Educators Association convention in San Antonio.
One other important fact about that fall semester of 1981 in the WT Chorale is that there was a tall, blonde, beautiful freshman alto who entered the picture. I’d like to tell you I was immediately smitten, but it actually took a couple of years for me to REALLY notice. (That’s another story for another day).
Back to Carmina …
That tall, blonde, beautiful freshman alto was involved in the Carmina experience and all the rest of my college choir experiences. And, of course, she’s been my Mrs. for almost 39 years now.
Almost 35 years ago, we had a beautiful baby girl who grew up to become a wonderful singer and attended our Alma Mater. She sang in the college choir and we got to go and hear her sing “Carmina Burana” in 2008 or 2009 (I can’t remember for sure).
Now, fast forward to fall of 2022 and our baby girl, who has been singing for the past few years with the Amarillo Master Chorale, tells me that they will be doing “Carmina Burana” in the spring with the Amarillo College Choir and the Amarillo Symphony. I certainly want to put that on my calendar so we can go hear it.
And then she surprises me by asking if I’d be interested in singing with them because the AMC director wants to have a really large choir for Carmina. She checks with him and we negotiate a rehearsal schedule (because I can’t drive from Azle to Amarillo for rehearsal every Monday night). He agrees and I’m in.
So, last week Mrs. Sweetie and I spent the whole week in Amarillo so I could be part of the Monday-Thursday rehearsals, and performances on Friday and Saturday.
I got to share an unforgettable musical experience with my favorite daughter and enjoy revisiting memories of a significant time of life that I now look back on with more amazement than I could possibly experience at the time.
After all, if it hadn’t been for the college choir, I might not have met the tall, blonde, beautiful alto. And if I hadn’t met the tall, blonde, beautiful alto, last week’s experience with my baby girl wouldn’t have happened.
God is really amazing like that. This morning I read in Habakkuk 1:5 where God said,
“For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn’t believe even if someone told you about it.”
Ain’t it the truth!
Be amazing today, my friend.
