A God Story.

"I don't sing because I'm happy; I'm happy because I sing" William James

Second day down without a fuss. Liddy drove us in without trauma or incident & we hoyed Ditz out to be bored to tears while we took ourselves off to the cinema. Not real good choices but seeing Liddy had been at a 21st the night before & crashed at her brother's she wasn't feeling real bright & sparkly this morning when we picked her up & even the Ugly Truth was preferable to large amounts of exercise & bright sunshine.

Eventually the PR pics should go up on the VM site & I hope to be able to link anyone interested. Individual shots were done as well as group ones ~ CV stuff I guess. Who knows. Anyway I thought now might be a good time to tell the story of how we fell into Vocal Manoeuvres because in my wildest dreams I never expected to be doing this stuff.

I have mentioned, once or twice, that my Ditz has a little trouble counting, that my Ditz is social to the point of lunacy, that my Ditz likes to sing like a canary....It's hard remembering back to a time when music didn't consume a large part of our week but such a time did indeed exist.

Once upon a time we began piano as an adjunct to Ditz's math & we toddled along with Ditz learning her music basics. To piano we added violin because Ditz insisted she wanted to learn & violin was almost her undoing. So when the local primary school decided it wanted a school band & declared the auditions open Ditz was champing at her bit. Because it was local I agreed Ditz could audition, not really expecting her to gain a place. She did. And she was also offered a place in the school choir. I began juggling our school schedule around Ditz's music commitments. The school band folded within 12 months & I was left with a distressed child so we commuted 2 islands over so she could join the other school band.

All this was just falling in Ditz's lap but it was, you know, fairly laid back. Not a big deal. It was nice Ditz liked music. It was nice she could sing in tune. It was nice she could play an instrument. It was nice she was improving & had the chance to play in a band with other musicians.

Then we went over for flute the last day of 3rd term & a flyer, literally, fell in our lap. Musicians were workshopping over the school holidays for what used to be known locally as the Strawberry Festival. Local opportunities are rare. Unfortunately Ditz knew that as well as I did. She begged. I made a phone call. Mistake numero uno. The council were keen to boast the islanders were being included in their cultural reach & offered us free transport. We took it. Second mistake.

For 2 weeks straight Ditz got the sort of training she now takes for granted. She worked her butt off to find her feet in a semi~professional ensemble. She really grew musically & she loved performing. When it was all over I could literally see the distress of being back paddling in a pool of mediocrity. Ditz went into mourning. She didn't nag. She didn't beg. She simply wilted ~ visibly.

Dearest, who is an absolute sucker when it comes to his daughters, begged me to do something. I made enquiries. I thought the audition would be the end of it. Ditz had never in her life sung a capella in cold blood for anyone & I couldn't see her starting now but she chose a song & learnt it off by heart & she sang a capella in cold blood. It was nerve wracking ~ & I was only watching!

There wasn't even any quibbling; Ditz was in! OKaaaay....We toddled off to orientation & the lights started going on for me. This was not some hokey~pokey choir got together by amateurs for a bit of fun. Nor siree. This was serious business. This had musical clout. This had Reputation. So much so that if Ditz wasn't keen I'd have her out like a shot because it is too cruel, too full~on, too rigorous for a child who isn't serious about what they are doing. I would never in a thousand years put a young child into something so full on but Ditz has thrived. Nope, I wouldn't have done it but God knew Ditz needed this & He had put everything in place so Ditz had enough music background that when the opportunity arrived she was able to grab it with both hands ~ & I was totally clueless. I couldn't worry & fret about what I didn't know about. Now I worry & fret but I can also see that Ditz has fallen into something really special, something Dearest & I would never have thought we could provide for her...but her father in heaven owns the cattle on a thousand hills. Guess he sold a few off just for Ditz.