July 4th, 2015 we were told to get up, get dressed, and get onto the buses. In hindsight, it would have been nice to know what to prepare for that day. It would have been nice to take rain coats or umbrellas. We did not know where we were going or what we would be doing that day. It turned out that we had a long bus ride from New York City going north along the Hudson River. Some of us actually assumed we were going sightseeing somewhere.
And we did go sightseeing, We got to tour West Point Military Academy - in the rain. Very interesting and inspiring. Then we were told that we would be performing with the West Point Academy Band in concert that evening. Apparently, the Band usually did a concert on the 4th of July mostly for the community nearby. Our presence was hush-hush because they did not want more customers than they could handle.
This was a wonderful concert in a beautiful setting. Chairs were set up on the lawn overlooking the Hudson River. The rain earlier in the day took most of the humidity out of the air. By showtime, we were comfortable and confident. Seeing all of the cadets marching in to take their seats was really inspiring. The band played well on their own and to accompany us. We were very touched singing Patriotic songs at the military academy that had trained Army cadets since the founding of our country. (Go Army! Beat Navy!)
A bonus for us in the Tabernacle Choir was that we got to leave the risers and go down behind them to watch the fireworks. What a spectacle! We loved our clandestined outing!
Enjoy a YouTube video of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" from West Point Academy.
P.S. It is amazing that some of the women thought to bring make-up and hair-doing supplies. They helped the rest of us get looking prepared.
And we did go sightseeing, We got to tour West Point Military Academy - in the rain. Very interesting and inspiring. Then we were told that we would be performing with the West Point Academy Band in concert that evening. Apparently, the Band usually did a concert on the 4th of July mostly for the community nearby. Our presence was hush-hush because they did not want more customers than they could handle.
This was a wonderful concert in a beautiful setting. Chairs were set up on the lawn overlooking the Hudson River. The rain earlier in the day took most of the humidity out of the air. By showtime, we were comfortable and confident. Seeing all of the cadets marching in to take their seats was really inspiring. The band played well on their own and to accompany us. We were very touched singing Patriotic songs at the military academy that had trained Army cadets since the founding of our country. (Go Army! Beat Navy!)
A bonus for us in the Tabernacle Choir was that we got to leave the risers and go down behind them to watch the fireworks. What a spectacle! We loved our clandestined outing!
Enjoy a YouTube video of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" from West Point Academy.
P.S. It is amazing that some of the women thought to bring make-up and hair-doing supplies. They helped the rest of us get looking prepared.
RSS Feed