"If music be the food of love, play on; Give me excess of it,..."-Shakespeare

So for the past three nights 700 children chosen from all over Nassau County assembled together to rehearse for tonight's concert at The Tilles Center.The program includes a band, a chorus, a jazz band, and an orchestra. Every child had to rehearse after school from 4PM to 8PM for three consecutive nights.
The first night I dropped my son off I watched him play in an orchestra for the first time. Most of this large group of children never met, much less played together before & they already sounded good. Last night I arrived early hoping to get a glimpse of how far they progressed. One word-Amazing! The lump that formed in my throat was quite big, the tears of happiness had to be kept at bay. They sounded so beautiful. The guest conductor was very enthusiastic with them. He was completely into it all. What is it about music that just makes you feel so uplifted?
When the kids were finished rehearsing, the conductor told them it was an honor to be there with them. Then he went around to all the children telling them "Good job, good job.