When I was younger, I was a pretty good singer. My story begins when I was about eight years old. I tried out for a solo in my school’s Christmas pageant. At the time we lived near Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.  The Moravians first settled in Bethlehem in the mid 1700s.  The Moravian influence is still very strong in that area.  One of their customs was to have a young member of the church sing a song called, “Morning Star”, at the Christmas service.  They still do that to this day.

This was the song that my music teacher wanted me to sing at our Christmas pageant. It was my first solo. I was so nervous. I can remember the auditorium looked huge to me back then. The auditorium was filled with my schoolmates and their parents.  I guess I did all right because everyone cheered after the performance.

My music teacher thought that I was good enough to try out for the Singing Boys of Pennsylvania. It was an honor just to be asked to try out, let alone make it. I was one of the youngest to become a member.  My brother who is two years older also made it.

 The Singing Boys of Pennsylvania are made of young men ranging in ages from 8 to 16 years old. We would travel all over putting on concerts and playing with world famous orchestras, such as the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra and the Boston Pops Symphony Orchestra.  Some people compared them to the Vienna Boys Choir.

The Singing Boys gave me a chance to see the country. During the school year we would practice three days a week after school for two, sometimes three, hours per session. Then on Saturday we practiced choreography for four hours.  Not only were we required to practice the music, we also had to study the music and commit it to memory which is not that easy, when you’re singing in three different languages at eight years old.

I have always loved music.  I taught myself to play a bass guitar and when I was a teenager we formed a small band. We even made a CD but it never made it to the music charts.  Since I lost my ability to speak at age 28, I never lost my love for music.  I listen to all types of music on my DynaVox V.  I am able to download the music from the Internet and store it on my device. I really have quite a collection of all types of music.  If you were to ask me what my favorite type is, I would say it is classic rock.

I am so grateful that my DynaVox V enables me to continue my love of music.  Not only am I able to listen, but I can actually compose and continue my singing using my device.  I have the opportunity to continue using the gift of singing that God has given me.  I need to become more involved in my love of music and keep on singing.