It’s the time of the year we take a moment to honor those who have served and those who continue to serve us, though we will almost certainly never meet most of them and probably know the names of only a few. It’s a distinct moment to stop and think about the sacrifices they made — while all of them give so much, some of them give all. Even though it’s certainly important to take some time on this special day — Veterans Day — to think about those who have served and those who are currently serving our country, a single day of our consideration and thoughts can never be enough, especially for those who gave the ultimate gift through their service — their lives.
I am always pleasantly surprised when I am reminded, at various and random times, of the power that good music seems to have to bring together and unite people. This can happen even with the most diverse groups of people imaginable. And it happened one Friday at Bradley University during the rehearsal of one rather unsuspecting choir in which I currently sing, the Bradley Chorale. In the course of our typical one-hour daily rehearsal time, we were transformed and unified with a group of strangers with which we happened to share one crucial passion — a love for choral music and singing.
