I still remember the first time I told my dad that I wanted to be in the Let the Children Praise choir. He has been a part of the adult choir for Deo Cantamus for a long time, and I had witnessed the children’s choir sing with them on occasion. It sounded fun and so I told Dad that I wanted to be a part of it.
When I auditioned in our living room, I was definitely nervous, as I carefully sang ‘ My country Tis of thee’ for the recording. Imagine my delight when I found out that I had made it in! Every year, including my first in 2017, I have looked forward with anticipation to the envelope with the music and CD for the year’s concert that arrives in the mail in November. I love practicing, especially the ones in different languages, my all round favorite being Wir Eilen Mit Schwachen by Bach.
I have enjoyed every hour that I spend with the rest of the choir rehearsing. It’s a lot of work, but it comes out beautifully when we practice and persevere. Mr. Hawkins makes it fun and interesting, and his famous saying, “ Perfect! Now do it again”, spurs us on.
I have had the privilege to have two of my siblings join me in the choir, and its fun to practice with them, and to help them practice, as we stumble through the songs when we get them. It always involves a lot of laughing. I love the thrill I get before we file onto stage, which I’m sure we all get. It’s kind of sad when its over. We spend hours practicing, and then its over in the blink of an eye. But its a great feeling to finish a concert and know that we did our best, and that we brought joy to a bunch of people. And, its only a year until the next one, and as everyone knows, a year can go by very fast!
I love singing and I love praising God, and bringing joy, hope, and comfort to those around me, and just having fun! I get to do all those whilst performing with the choir, getting to know new people each year, and making friends. My time in the choir is drawing to a close, as I reach my years of high school. I will miss it very much, but hope to be in the adult choir when I’m done with school.
I like the title of our group. ‘ Let the Children Praise’. I like to think that it doesn’t just refer to kids, but to all followers of Christ. We are all children to the Father. He calls us His little children, and we all should worship Him, the one true God, with spirit, and vigor, and hope of His coming again. In the words of a hymn that my family and I sing with our congregation at our church in Sleepy Eye, MN:
‘ Praise to the Lord, O let all that is in me adore
Him! All that hath life and breath, come now with
praises before Him. Let the Amen sound from his
people again; Gladly forever adore Him!’
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