My daughter, Melanie
This week I had an opportunity to witness the culmination of many years of focused study, grueling practices, late-into-the-night rehearsals, and difficult sacrifices. My daughter, Melanie (Allison's twin), is a performance major at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY, studying voice. She hopes to sing on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera someday, and has worked incredibly hard for her bachelor's degree requirements. She will actually be "taking five" next year, which means take an extra year of voice lessons, so that she can also be awarded a double degree. She's earn a bachelor's degree in psychology as well as music.
All seniors are required to do a senior recital. Melanie's was held on Monday, and I must say, her mom, grandmother, and I were so proud I was surprised my buttons didn't burst and dance across the stage floor!
We couldn't take photos during the recital, but it was spectacular. In addition to a wonderful pianist who accompied her, she included a clarinet player and a whole orchestra, including a harpist! What a thrill. My "little girl," stood proudly on stage in a sparkly pink princess dress, singing like an angel. ;o)
I don't have a current recording of her voice, but over the years I've made CDs of her songs and would love to have you visit my writing website, where I feature Melanie singing on many of the pages. Here are a few to try, if you have time and like a pretty soprano voice:
http://www.legardemysteries.com/recommendedreading.htm
http://www.legardemysteries.com/pressreleases.htm
http://www.legardemysteries.com/freearticlesessays.htm
We were blessed that almost every important person from Melanie's past attended the recital. Of course, I bombarded them with emails months in advance and didn't let up until a week before the event! LOL! Above is a picture of Melanie with her high school drama coach, Bettina DeBell, and her elementary and high school music teacher, Chandra Downs. If you have read the second book in the LeGarde Mysteries (Upstaged), you may recognize Bettina's name from the dedication. Lots of great color and background material for Upstaged was absorbed by sitting in the back of the auditorium while Melanie prepared for 13 musicals over the years.All in all, it was a grand day. Happy sigh. It was one of those great moments in a father's life, a special occasion I will never forget...
7 comments:
Aaron, you are a very lucky father and are only right to be as proud of you lovely daughter as you are. Good on you and her mother, and good on Melanie.
Your daughter is lovely, Aaron, and obviously very talented. Let us know when her first album comes out!
Thanks, Steve!
Hi, Jude. You can count on it!! ;o)
Aaron, I hope you and your family are making it through the storm okay.
Hi, Steve!
Well, we didn't get hit as hard as NYC, what with their 8 inches of rain in 24 hours! We had lots of snow Sunday and yesterday, and have about five inches of slush in our driveway now. It's supposed to rain all day, so I guess it will be gone by tomorrow. Thanks for thinking of us, Steve! You're the best. ;o)
Aaron, your Melanie is gorgeous. All of your daughters are! You are a fantastic father, and you have every right to be proud! :-)
Thank you, Sonya! I'm so proud of every one of them. They are all special in my heart. Jennifer, a great mother to my grandsons and a soon-to-be super nurse, Allison, with her amazing eye for photography and art, and my nightingale, Melanie. They are such good daughters, Dale and I are truly blessed. ;o)
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