What has music done for you lately?

My favorite assignment in my classes is "a day without music."  I challenge students to attempt to not experience any music for an entire day.  When they hear it on TV, they should turn it off, when played in a store, avoid that store.  This assignment awakens a reality that music is embedded in society as motivation, coercion, inspiration, and more.

Music can move you to tears or inspire you to run marathon.  It can cause you to reflect and it can motivate you.

How has music influenced you, moved you, changed you, inspired you?

Here's my story:

As a kid, music was a reason to get out of school and go on a field trip.  My Our Lady of Prompt Succor Choir in Chalmette, LA (Mr. Randy Rumbelow, director) would take us out to the mall and we would sing a few carols.

The first time music really moved me was in high school.  Jesuit was an all male school and the choir sang at every mass.  It made me want to be a part of it.  Later, I got sucked into musical theatre at Dominican High School where my singing really took off.  I was just a shadow until I started finding myself and my personality through Mrs. Abadie, Payton, and Castillo.  Here is where I knew music would be a major part of my life.

In college, music led me to my beautiful wife (the choir director... of course!).  I found out you could make $$ singing and still have it move you with Government Street Presbyterian Church in Mobile where performing Rutter's "Requiem" inspired me to pursue music rather than history.

At Loyola, I refined my skills and met an amazing mentor whose wisdom and beauty at the podium is unmatched.  I met the best musicians that I could ever imagine, had a great vocal coach, and honed my skills as an educator and advocate for music.

Today, I am a choir director (singing when I can) and try to inspire future musicians as the amazing teachers that I had before.  I know that I would not have my voice had it not been for all of those who led me to where I am and I hope to be that motivator for my former, current, and future students.  It is not about being an amazing singer, it is about a love for the art form and a desire to better yourself as a human.

So, what have you gotten out of music and what has music gotten out of you?