I am SO thrilled to have the opportunity to sing this beloved song on two very special occasions each year- the Kenosha Pops band’s final concert of the summer… and when the band reconvenes for its annual Christmas concert. This song evokes memories of dear friends and family and of the special joy and sense of meaning which they give us. It’s also a song about looking ahead ….. with confidence and a hunger to learn more. The hardest thing about singing this song is keeping my cool, emotionally. Tonight, I actually had tears in my eyes as I listened to the band play its gorgeous interlude – and had to shake that off as much as possible in order to be able to sing the final measures of the song, which include a high F. This magnificent arrangement is by Charles Wiley- and Craig Gall conducted it. I will always be incredibly grateful to him for inviting me to join the band in this remarkably beautiful and moving piece.
I have had the honor of performing with the Kenosha Pops Band for two seasons, and have been listening to them since 2005, when I was invited by Kristie Kruse (nee Weyrauch), a flutist in the band at the time, to hear the Pops play a pieces she was conducting in Rambler Band. This piece has brought me to tears every time I’ve heard it, but this year it was especially moving. My father passed away at the end of August 2014, and this past holiday season, the second since his passing, was the hardest I have ever gone through in my life, despite a family trip to Las Vegas. This piece brought back memories of my dad from my earliest years, memories of Christmases long ago, and it brings with it a sense of hope for the future and a sense of thanks for the blessed times we’ve had together.
Thank you for the lovely note, Kyle. I am sorry you are grappling with such a painful loss, but I’m glad you are looking for light wherever it comes to you. Your dad loved you and would want you and your mom to be living as joyously as possible. I’m glad that “auld lang syne” was a moment where you could reconnect with some of your favorite memories of your dad. This song has certainly meant the same thing to me over the years.