Thanks to all of you who turned out on a lovely sunny afternoon to enjoy and applaud the Island Sinfonia, Orcas Choral Society, and the Community Band as they played and sang to demonstrate that time spent in school music programs lasts a lifetime. The student groups who performed for this year’s concert brought the audience to their feet and their smiles lit up the gym! They were experiencing the joy that musicians get when their music can be shared. It was a truly delightful afternoon with a wide range of choral and instrumental music – and all ages – proving that school music programs can be everlasting. MAG wants to express deep appreciation to Dimitri Stankevich who kept the program rolling along, directors Joe Babcock, Ned Griffin, Roger Sherman, Pamela Wright, and Martin Lund, who kept the musicians in tune and time, to all the instrumentalists and vocalists, and to all the student and adult helpers who set up and took down the gym. MAG especially thanks all the donors because they have made it possible for Orcas students to experience the same joy that so many of us have had throughout the years since our school days! If smiles were energy, the crisis could have been solved in the school gym on Sunday afternoon!

Joyce Burghardt

Music Advocacy Group chair