I had the good fortune of attending last evening’s “Piano Showcase,” which marked the final student performance of the year—a very full and very rewarding school year for the tens of hundreds of performers and tens of thousands of audience members. I reveled in what I heard, saw, and took in, as the set of presenters—members of Mr. Isaacson’s second semester Piano class—had entered this course with widely varying amounts of piano-playing experience. Here they were, on the stage, sitting at the piano, and presenting themselves to the audience with both capability and confidence—each (gulp!) within a setting where there was absolutely no place to hide. Talk about grace under pressure! And what ensued was a series of high, high deliverables—ones in which you could tell from the body language of each performer that a perfect 10 had just been delivered.
Extreme kudos to these youngsters who, because they so willingly put themselves out there, transformed into someone the audience came to know better. Broadly speaking, revealing him/herself in the completely unguarded fashion that any performer does—be that musician, thespian, athlete, debater, etc.—is a deeply visceral honor and privilege for an audience member. And it’s a reality that stands at the heart of why our school provides youngsters a safe and protected setting in which to perform and showcase themselves, children of God—Jesus would want it that way, of that I am sure. That they can shine while doing what they love doing is so that we, the audience, can love and admire them for being who they are while lending our full-throated support and unwavering affirmation. No judgment, just recognition and right-level praise. These youngsters risk so much and they get back even more just as long as we the audience embrace our responsibility in uplifting them for having so courageously and joyfully shared their beautiful gifts. And because Bishop O’Connell High School—from day one of its existence—has met each of its beloved students where they are, and provided them with a massive array of opportunities (be that curricular or extra-curricular), our Knights go on to be their incandescent best selves. Yes, we are a school in which every voice—even those wobbling in the early days as a Knight—will one day soon transition to its own unique brand of pitch-perfect. Keep tickling the ivory, DJO, and making your sweet and exceedingly heartfelt music, for our good and gracious God is listening, and He is pleased, very pleased.