Happy 4th of July!

What a fantastic Independence Day! It started out with our church service here at Interlochen. It worried me a bit that it was Fast and Testimony, but probably 30 people showed up! It was one of the most spiritual meetings I've attended in a while. Just like everything else here at Interlochen, there is something beautiful in seeing the kids here be more than they are. Their testimonies today were sweet and simple and pure and just beautiful. Despite the fact that everybody is in uniform, and we meet in a recital hall, the priesthood is there and all is well.

Sunday is performance day at Interlochen! We started out by attending the ICO, ISO and ISB concerts, all intermediate concerts at different levels. Since I haven't attended a kid concert yet here, I was overwhelmed with emotion, again seeing just normal, ordinary kids perform such beautiful music. Mark, being the good boy that he is, had volunteered to play horn in one of the orchestras because for some strange reason, there was only one hornist in the entire Intermediate division. I had to laugh when all 6'4" of him came in on stage with kids that are all still in middle school :-)

Then, we were off to the IP concert, the "lesser" high school orchestra that Mark was in last year. What a fantastic concert--really! As with the intermediate orchestras, there was a huge emphasis on patriotic music considering the day. My eyes have been opened to all kinds of new "Americana" compositions.

Food never tastes so good as after fasting, and indeed, even the Stone cafeteria food tasted like pure sweetness to John and me for dinner.

Finally, the kids put on a parade tonight with the high school boys taking the prize for most creative float.

At 8:00, WYSO's concert began. There were seriously thousands of people there, and all of Kresge was packed. The concert was being recorded and will actually be broadcast next week if anyone is interested in listening to it (go to ipr.interlochen.org and click on "Listen online" on Sunday, July 11, at 2 p.m.) They began with "Star-Spangled Banner". Honestly, it was so wonderful to be expected to sing the words, and sing everybody did. Then, the orchestra played "Variations on America" by Charles Ives. Ives has never been one of my favorite composers--he's very modern and at times, difficult to listen to. However, this was fantastic, and I wasn't ready for it to be over. The big piece of the night was "Symphony No. 3" by Ned Rorem, another modern-day composer. It pained me to see Mark not play a note as the first chair horn took everything, but the piece was interesting and great for listening. Finally, they finished with "Stars and Stripes Forever" and a balloon drop. Not exactly Jung-Ho's style, but I know everyone was so grateful for the entire program. When we've been here in the past, there is no patriotic music the week of the 4th, and I guess it takes the holiday falling on the actual Sunday of performances. It was such a blessing to be here!

As I watched WYSO, and loved it all the more because Mark was in it, I felt so thankful that Mark finally reached this point in his horn playing. Being in WYSO and working with Jung-Ho has been a goal of Mark's for several years now. It hit me too that he plays well enough to play with the best international youth orchestra in the world. What an honor for him!

During the "Stars and Stripes", Jung-Ho let the piccolos stand up for their solo, and then the brass. What fun! I'll bet you can't spot Mark :-)