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DAVID BENTLEY'S WEEKLY COLUMN |
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OUR GREAT WORK
The highest compliment I ever received came from a second grader who was asked what I was like as a teacher. After a few moments of thought the boy said, "He's not really mean, but he's not nice either. You just have to have him as a teacher to understand. " Those profound comments came to mind as my own teacher, mentor, and friend celebrated her 80th birthday. Moving from a city of a quarter million people where I'd sung in a 65-voice cathedral choir, I was not sure what to expect musically on an island with 6,000 residents. To my surprise and great delight, I discovered a 60-voice community chorus under the direction of the former assistant to the director of the Chicago Symphony Chorus. Elizabeth Burton moved to the island from Chicago and took a job as a motel desk clerk. At the urging of a local contractor, she agreed to start a community chorus. With 13 singers, many of whom could not even read music, she presented the first concert of the San Juan Singers in the high school band room. Before passing on her baton, she produced a chorus of 60 singers who performed with the Civic Orchestra of Victoria, B.C., singing opera choruses in four languages from memory. Elizabeth was known for her demanding discipline. Three absences in a season, and you didn't perform in the concert. Too much talking during rehearsal, and you were reprimanded in front of the chorus. In return, however, you learned to sing better and gained the self-confidence that comes from a job well done. Elizabeth taught us the difference between singing the right notes and making music. Sarah Ban Breathnach wrote, "Each of us was created to give outward expression to Divinity through our personal gifts. Sharing our gifts with the world is our Great Work, no matter what our job description might be or how our resume reads." Thank you, Elizabeth, for showing so many of us how that is done.
© 2006 David Bentley David Bentley, M.Ed. & Personal Coach, coaches clients through the game of life, helping them find balance, clarity of direction, and purpose in an ever-changing world. You may contact him at 360.378.8436 by e-mail at david@coachbentley.com or visit his Web site: www.coachbentley.com |
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