Last night, I snuck into the Mount Vernon Stake Christmas program late. I didn't think I'd make it at all, but I discovered I would be able to catch the last little bit of it.
I walked in wearing jeans, (because I wasn't planning on going!) I found a seat at the back. I relaxed in my seat and watched a combined ward choir sing "The First Noel". It was beautiful.
Then President Nixon (the stake president--not the dead ex-president) told a beautiful Christmas story that made me tear up.
After that, the Mount Vernon Stake Bell Choir got up to do "Hard the Herald Angels Sing". The bell carolers were all dressed in black. They had beautiful white gloves and each of the carolers had bells of different sizes for the varying pitch.
And this little boy on the back row of the pews, just 4 rows in front of me, solemnly climbed on top of his chair.
He straightened himself and raised his little 4 year old arms--conscious of the great responsibility that he carried in conducting the performance. As the bell carol began, he waved his arms with more gusto than Amadeus himself. His little arms swung out and in and his father held his chair to be sure that he didn't accidentally tumble down from his chair. At the end of the phrases, the bell carolers would shake their bells and you could see his chubby little hands ringing out his imaginary bells.
If he got lost in the music, his head would wave and his arms would hesitate, until the choir returned to a rocking rhythm and then he would swing his arms to the beat, wide and far. He fairly jumped with the bells.
At the end of the song, the audience burst into spontaneous applause. And I thought I saw the little boy take the slightest bow.
Everyone who was privileged to sit in the Chapel Overflow had the best seat in the room. I looked around at all the smiles as we tried to hold in our laughter at this little conductor extraordinaire. It was so cute. And so wonderful.
1 comment:
That little boy has a long musical life ahead of him, I can tell.
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