Constructing Successful Student Choirs for the Second Quarter of the 21st Century
Part One – Daunting
Part Two – Beyond Mere Possibility
Part Three – Listening
Part Four – Leading
Part Five – Following
Part Six – Courage vs. Shyness
Part Seven – Collaborating
Part Eight – Goodbye to Me First
Part Nine – Choral Music … Much More Than Singing
Part Ten – Revealing Riches and Building Lives
Goodbye to Me First
It’s been a while since I have posted in this series and on this topic, and I can tell you without question that an enormous amount of progress has been made on the flyover interchange at Loop 1604 and Interstate 10 North in San Antonio. In fact, the drone photo featured in this article is several months old. If you’ll find the two-lane flyover that has been opened and now has traffic on it, this photo is facing east and the new flyover shown with vehicles on it connects eastbound 1604 with northbound I-10 heading to Boerne, TX, then Comfort, TX, then Kerrville, TX, only 50 minutes from this interchange. And yes, Kerrville is where the tragic July 4 floods took place.
Now that you’ve seen the open flyover, if you look just below it, you’ll see another one with a dangling edge of steel to the right. That one is now completed and open, and it connects northbound I-10 to westbound Look 1604. In fact, I just drove on it last evening. Next up to open … next week, actually, is the next to highest flyover, which connects westbound 1604 with southbound I-10.
It’s all moving along great, and officials are now telling us that the project will be completed by about this time next year … perhaps the fall of 2026. It’s been an astonishing project to observe in the making. The extreme competency and efficiency of the planning and work — the fascinating logistics — have been a beautiful sight to behold.
In case it’s of any interest, I live one half mile away from this photo … cueing off of 8:00 on the clock dial. My dwelling for the past decade has been at The Residences at La Cantera, across the street from La Cantera Mall. This means ALL my commuting — to anywhere I’m headed — must be done through the massive construction zone. I’ve had the advantage of seeing this project go up from the first turn of dirt to where it is today. Inconvenient? A little, occasionally, but primarily, it has been inspiring and invigorating to watch! And I’ve enjoyed many a cell phone conversation with many of you as I’ve sat parking-lot-style or crept along in traffic in my various commutes.
It became clear very early on — and it remains obvious today — that this is no project for egomaniacs. Anyone who needs to imagine themselves as the center of the universe on this complex construction site is unwise, tone-deaf and out of touch with reality. Every person engaged in this concert of construction plays a key role in its success. Every task, every specialty, every skill, every job is indispensable to the whole. No exceptions.
I have a strong hunch that those planning and building this exquisite monstrosity are reasonably emotionally healthy individuals … planners and contractors, subcontractors and laborers, drivers and traffic controllers, truckers and concrete specialists, steel workers and sign-makers, landscapers and crane operators … who all have a basic respect for all others engaged in the project.
Why do I intuit a reasonable level of mental health? Three reasons: 1) the project, although highly complex complicated, and involved is making steady and quite impressive speed towards completion. It has moved quickly from its beginning and has not let up one bit. If anything, it has picked up speed in recent months, 2) the patience, strength, and endurance required to work these specialty jobs in all kinds of weather, shifting around the clock, and with almost no significant pauses, oftentimes 24 hours a day, and 3) hundreds of thousands of vehicles pass through — under, over, around, and through — this construction zone not once, but twice — every day. Have there been disruptions? Yes, sometimes; however, the track record and efficiency of moving traffic through while continuing productive progress has been a thing of wonder to me.
None of the three results above could have occurred with a narcissistic, self-centered, sociopathic leader at the helm. Selfishness never produces results like this, not this fast, not this thorough, not this sweeping, not this competently, not this well.
As leaders of student choirs, we must discover the mystical balance between strong, assertive, and proactive leadership mixed with collaboration, kindness, and gentleness. We also must truly know our art and craft way beyond big talk, empty promises, and the destructive art of bullying and cosplay. We must remain highly diligent and aware of the nuances of human behavior, adolescent challenges, teenage brain development, parental dynamics healthy and unhealthy, and a genuine respect for everyone involved.
What we want to construct in terms of an expansive ministry with teenagers requires the best skills we can bring forth, the highest levels of love and care we can give, and the most sincere cache of authentic humility we are able to express.
Goodbye to “me first.” Hello to “everyone is essential to this mission, and all are worthy of all the love I can give.”
Randy Edwards
