David Roberts Personal Experience Analysis

David J. Roberts Personal Experience Essay

Personal Experience Essay This past summer I participated in a group known as the Mississippi Baptist AllState Youth Choir and Orchestra. It consisted of an over 150-member choir and a full orchestra made up entirely of ninth through twelfth grade church going students from all over the state of Mississippi. It is meant to strengthen these students musically, as well as spiritually. Not only did I meet many new people and make many new friends, I had a few new experiences and new emotions that came with them. It was the first time I had sung with a large choir, the first time I had performed with a full orchestra and when I had chosen my career as a minister of music. I have sung in other choirs before (small ensembles, church choirs), but none of those compared with this one. This choir was comprised of young men and women my age that were personally auditioned
If that were not enough, there were over 150 of us. We sang advanced level works: some traditional, some contemporary. We even sang one piece that was Latin. This was a very encouraging part of the whole experience for me. I had never considered myself a good singer before this. However, after singing alongside these wonderful, talented singers who were deemed my peers, I now feel more confident in my singing ability and sing more often than I used to. It had always been a personal goal of mine to play in a full symphony orchestra, which is comprised of string, wind and percussion instruments. Playing in concert bands and chamber groups was never enough. Needless to say, my goal was achieved when I joined this orchestra. There were