Ever since March and the quarantine started, so many things have not gone to plan. To make it worse, there is no way we could have planned for something like this! It has carried into this new school year and has affected us all. With marching band, all of our competitions have been canceled. This forced us to reevaluate our show and goals of the season.
Our marching show will look a little different. We will be scaling back our show and using different music, but we will still have lots of movement and choreography. Having a non-competitive season will help us focus on sharing the value of music with our Fort Wayne community, all the while showing the resilience of music and the arts under any circumstances.
While participating in competitions across the state helps us to improve our skills, the Marching Cadets’ purpose is so far beyond that. Our ultimate objective is to always share God’s Message to as many people as possible. So when we received the announcement that competitions were canceled, we were certainly disappointed in the news, but quickly realized that we still had our Mission to fulfill.
We have decided to title our 2020 show “Resounding Praise.” One of our pieces in our show is based on a familiar Easter hymn, “Now All the Vault of Heaven Resounds.” The hymn celebrates Christ’s triumph over death, “in praise of love that still abounds.”
Now all the vault of Heaven resounds
In praise of love that still abounds:
“Christ has triumphed! He is living!”
Sing, choirs of angels, loud and clear!
Repeat their song of glory here:
“Christ has triumphed! Christ has triumphed!”
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
After looking up the official definition of resounding, our show title made even more sense. The first definition listed in Merriam-Webster is “to become filled with sound.” We are filling our sound with praise! To help remind ourselves of this, we end each of our rehearsals and performances with an arrangement of the Doxology titled, “Make His Praise Glorious.”
Even though the world seems to be drowning in chaos and negativity, we still have much to be thankful for and praise God for. We still have a full staff to help lead rehearsals. So far, we have had healthy students! We are still finding ways to perform for the community to share God’s love. We are still able to use our God-given talents to praise his name! THAT is what the Concordia Marching Cadets is all about.
I have challenged the kids to be intentional with their attitude, especially this school year. How will they carry themselves during rehearsal/school day? How will they react to circumstances out of their control? How will they choose to stay positive? Not that we would ignore the negatives or difficulties, because working through those challenges is how we learn and grow as humans.
So let me present you with a similar challenge: how will you be Resounding Praise this year?
Soli Deo Gloria!
Jennifer Porath,
Director of Bands