I slipped into the Minneapolis Convention Hall early and saw the Duluth East Acappela Choir at the ready before a thousand plus Minnesota School Board members filed in for the opening of their January Conference. They bravely sang despite the milling board members wandering in to take seats and chatting with their fellow board members from around the state. There were a raft of wonderful soloicists who sang with the choir that I could hear clearly while sitting directly below. Sadly the crowd was too busy to pay them the attention they deserved. That changed abruptly with the presentation of the colors and their rousing chorus of the National Anthem.
Then the announcer asked for the Board members attention as the Choir sang one last song. I pulled out my cell phone missing the first few notes but I caught it with my shaky hand as they kicked the song Jerusalem into high gear. Its a wonderful old war horse and they held the audience in rapt attention until the last note.
I’d heard my daughter sing it in the same choir almost twenty years before.
