For the Love of their Art

One of the programs that has formed out of Spirit of America and their trip to South Africa is a program named "Resound"(click here for more about that program).  They collect instruments that are no longer used, repair them and clean them up to give to children (anywhere) that need instruments.

 

The staff at Spirit of America is also willing to commit to training the kids who receive the instruments.
I lingered in the background today of one of these lessons done by Skype between Cape Cod Mass and Durban South Africa.... and had a chance to see what possibilities were brought to the budding instrumentalists.  One of the new trumpet players held his trumpet like Louis Armstrong! The improvement was obvious in the half hour that I was there and it made my heart warm to watch them do their best.  Spirit of America will be sending about a dozen of their staff in September to continue the lessons in person.

Never still

While it has been a while since I posted here, Spirit of America has not been still !  They have been catching up on all of the cleaning of trailers, painting, and repair after the Dayton win.  Yes, they do it all themselves...
Meanwhile the fife and drum unit is starting up with rehearsals and try-ons of their accurate to 1812 uniforms for the Memorial Day parade in Holden, Mass. The people in Holden are faithful every year to celebrate Memorial Day. For information of this parade click here. 
I love Memorial Day.  It is the perfect day to continue to honor the lives given (and that are still being given) for a principle that we are all proud of.
So come to Holden and join them.

"Spirit"

the definition of the word spirit according to Wikipedia is as follows ;

"The English word spirit comes from the Latin spiritus, meaning "breath",
but also "spirit, soul, courage, vigor"...

I see the kids from the Winter Percussion Ensemble transitioning from the thrill of being World Champions in their division....back to school, chores, and everyday life.

I saw spirit in these kids when they headed out to the competition in Dayton, OH -- connection and care for each other that was the true spirit of teamwork.  They made the choice to receive comments as helpful information -- an opportunity and a challenge to do better. Sometimes it’s hard to hear that you are not making the mark, but they all agreed together to stay positive.  And it paid off for them in more than just bringing home the gold.  They had a larger focus beyond themselves, and a constant choice to think of someone else. It takes courage to care for another person. This is the training that they embraced while they prepared for the band's trip to South Africa over two years ago. This is what gives them the ability to come home and bag the trash, or write a term paper, or take that math test they just don’t want to. That’s a special kind of spirit.